The Succubae Seduction 2: The Twins, Chapter 23
The elements to resurrect Areth are coming together. What
will be the final cost to restore one life?
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Chapter 23
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Awakening
Lyden Snow spared a
quick glance over to where Sonia spoke to Shelly. He didn’t know what was wrong
with either of his children, though one of Sheldon’s girlfriends— Shlee? Mandy?—
attempted to tell him what they’d endured. Shelly was acting like a sex-crazed
maniac while looking like she couldn’t care less about everything else going
on.
And Sheldon…. His
oldest son lay comatose in his arms. His breathing was even, though his face
contorted into pain every few seconds.
“—and that’s when the
Pillar of Darkness cursed Eldon,” the four-armed woman said, pulling Lydon’s
attention fully to her.
“He cursed my son?!” he exploded. He’d grown
angry a moment ago when she’d said something about King Aecus kidnapping
Shelly, but blew it off when he was told that Aecus was dead. Good riddance!
That was one less enemy for Lydon to worry about. He suspected that there was
more to that story, but hadn’t been told everything yet.
Hearing that the
always unpredictable Pillar of Darkness had actually cursed his son was too
much. Everything was happening at a speed he couldn’t keep up with. Shelly was
acting way out of character, and his son, who still glowed golden in his sight,
and who was supposed to be impervious to any permanent damage or harm, was comatose.
And to add to everything swirling around him, Gloria was trying to kill the
Pillar of Fire. Too much happening for him to track it all. He suffered from a
feeling he’d not experienced in quite some time. He was overwhelmed.
“Not cursed,” Shlee
interjected. He noticed her canine teeth were still a little elongated showing
her agitation and her werewolf heritage. Werewolves were his enemy too, right?
No, they were now his allies. And one was dating his son. “The Pillar of Darkness
blessed your son. Which I think is worse, but he said it was needed in order to
bring your fairy back.”
My fairy? Lydon wondered, then cursed himself.
Areth! The whole reason his kids went to deal with the font of evil. Why was he
finding it so hard to think? And why was he looking up into Sheila’s worried
gaze? Wasn’t he just holding their son? She was saying something to him, and he
had to focus hard to hear her. It felt like she was talking to him down a
tunnel. No, his vision was just darkening at the edges. He knew that was a bad
sign, but knew that there were more pressing needs.
“You’re bleeding,
Master!” She seemed to be yelling, but he managed to just understand her.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
Well, that would
explain that annoying itch in his side. If she was that worried, he had to be
hurt worse than he felt. His slave knew how resilient he was. If nothing else,
her fear galvanized his thoughts.
I need to enter my mind space, he thought. He
could heal up there, especially if he pulled his children in to help. They had
strong souls. But something was off. Wasn’t there something else going on? What
was he forgetting?
* *
* *
As soon as he opened
his eyes, Lyden remembered everything. Except how he got hurt. He remembered
Gloria coming in and attacking Gaia. Alloria fired arrows in rapid succession,
but they bounced harmlessly off the previous goddess of love. Had one
accidently hit him? Alloria was a perfect shot with her bow, and while he knew
she detested him, he couldn’t imagine her actually trying to hurt him. They
were allies in protecting Gaia.
He looked around, and
noted the form his mens mundi took.
He stood in a large tented pavilion, lush cushions lining the red walls and
covering the floor. He recognized it as one of his favorite orgy spots with his
wives, and shook his head. Not the kind of place he wanted to bring his
children into. He needed to heal, but he didn’t need sex for that while in
here.
With a little effort
of mental will, his surroundings misted and reformed into Gaia’s receiving
chambers. There was no battle taking place now, and he stood alone. Where were
his kids? Sheldon and Shelly should have been pulled in as he fell asleep. Or
rather, fell unconscious.
Closing his eyes, he
tried again to pull them into his mind-scape. They were both out cold, so it
should be no issue, unless they had protections up. Or… No, that thought wasn’t
worth having.
“Shelly is a little
occupied at the moment,” an old but familiar voice said. “And as your son has
received the blessing of a being that cannot bless, he is currently out of
reach as well.”
Lydon’s eyes snapped
open. He felt his jaw slacken as he looked at a scrawny old man, long grey-white
hair hung from his head and down his shoulder in scraggly waves. He wore an
old-fashioned tuxedo that might have been in style when Lyden took the man’s
life.
“D-dad?” His voice
cracked as he tried to speak. He’d talked to his father before while in Shelly’s
mens mundi, but didn’t realize his
old man could come visit his. He stood still as he looked over Shemhazau
Encantado. “What… How are you here?”
The wizened man
thought that over for a moment before speaking. “I liked the Sultan’s tent you
had before much more than this earthen room.” He paced over to where Gaia’s
throne stood upon its raised dais. “Gaia really needs to broaden her palette.
Too many browns and greens. Oh, close your mouth, son. You were pulling pretty
hard, and your daughter didn’t want me around while that mechanical woman
talked to her, so I figured I’d pay you a visit. Besides, Gaia is working her
over while she slumbers.”
Lyden’s mouth was not hanging open! He knew this wasn’t
really his father. His father’s soul still resided in the cursed blade,
Murasame. This was merely a shadow of the real one. But a shadow was more than
he’d had for two decades. Either way, he needed to get that sword back from
Marchosias.
“Do you know what’s
going on with my kids?” Lyden asked, knowing that the old man was a permanent
fixture in his daughter’s head and would be aware of what had happened to her.
Shemhazau’s grey eyes
pierced Lyden, sizing him up. He knew it was going to be bad if the man who had
almost no morals hesitated to speak of what he knew. “You’re going to want to
sit down for this.”
* *
* *
“I think I’m going to
be sick,” Sheila said as she got up from the couch and walked away from her
master. She’d joined them as soon as she could fall asleep to help him heal,
and walked in on her master’s father explaining what was going on.
Her kids! Her poor,
poor kids! Incest! Rape! Torture! Mind controlling ants… And her daughter was
pregnant by the monster that’d raped her. Master’s last greatest enemy was
dead, but his legacy now grew inside Shelly’s womb. To make matters worse,
Shelly had to carry the child to term, or risk the world slowly dying.
No one deserved to
have that happen to them. She knew her kids were strong. They took after their
parents, but this…. This was worse than anything her master and his wives went
through when trying to save their worlds from the Outsiders. She knew that
Master was raped by TanaVesta multiple times, and she even took bites out of
his flesh as she did it, but this seemed so much crueler. What sick, demented
deity that was supposed to be watching over them would allow such an atrocity?
The Pillar of Light—according to Gaia—ignored the world, and to the best of her
knowledge, there were no higher deities.
Would she have had
the strength to carry a monster in her womb? Over twenty years ago, she’d
feared what effects might occur, having the Outsider inhabit her body for the
little time it had during that last battle while she was pregnant with the
twins. Gaia had assured her that nothing was done to them. The Outsider hadn’t
been there at the conception.
Like it might have
for Angela’s child… She had a little more sympathy for the succubus turned
Pillar of Fire’s decision to hide the child from Master, but not much.
She looked at Master,
looked at his young-again face, and saw the torment swirling in his grey eyes.
As his willing slave, she should prostrate herself before him, and let him take
out his pain and anguish on her in any way he desired. But as the mother of the
two in torment, she needed to be comforted as well.
His light eyes turned
up to meet hers. Without a word, he stood and pulled her into his powerful
arms. Her heart broke again. How did this man always know when to be her master
and when to be her friend? They weren’t married, but their relationship
transcended that definition. She was his willing slave, lover, friend,
confidant, and she would do anything for him. He… Well, he was her everything.
And right then, he was the rock she needed to not be swept away in a torrent of
emotions.
She didn’t know how
long they stood there, absorbing strength from one another, but it was Master
who spoke first.
“How does laying a
paradox on my son help to bring Areth back?”
Sheila pulled away
and wiped at her eyes. She knew she must look horrid at the moment, but one of
the many benefits of being in Master’s mens
mundi was that she could appear any way she chose to. With a quick thought,
she felt an ice-blue, floor length dress engulf her. It matched her mood. She
hadn’t known Lisa long before her death at the hands of the Paladonic Knights,
but the daughter she left with Master would have some answering to do for her
part in leading Sheldon into this mess. Lysa may be the Pillar of Air, but her
behavior was inexcusable. Helping to save her daughter from Aecus wouldn’t be
enough.
Of course, that also
meant that Master and her owed Sonia a debt of gratitude for killing that
monster, King Aecus.
“I don’t know,”
Shemhazau said. “I once ruled the succubai, not the fairies. You’ll have to ask
Oberon on that. The fay folk keep to themselves, mostly, as I’m sure you’re
aware.”
Brock’s, or
Bridgette’s, boyfriend was a sore subject for Master. Sheila knew that he
didn’t approve of the relationship. The Fairy King was rude, crass, and the
most disrespectful person Sheila had ever met. But she also saw the way the
couple looked at one another. Whether it was due solely to Gloria’s spell, or
something more, the two loved one another. And Oberon doted on Lydon’s other
child, having no issues with their dual nature.
“I can’t just sit
here, doing nothing,” Master said as he let go of her and started to pace.
“You need to heal,
Master,” she told him, dropping to her knees in supplication and remembering the
wound in his side. Gloria, or Aphrodite, or whatever her name was also had some
answering to do. Not only for wounding Lyden, or for attacking Gaia, but she’d
broken Sheldon’s heart at her betrayal. “Gaia has that woman secured. After
you’re healed up, we can get the answers we need.”
“How bad am I?” he
asked, looking at his side, though there was no wound here in his mind.
“There was a lot of
blood, but Gaia assured us that you would survive,” she told him. “Even Alloria
appeared worried about you, if you can believe it, Master.”
“Alloria?” he asked
with no small amount of surprise. “She hates me, and all men.”
“Alloria, you say?”
Shemhazau piped into the conversation. “The last living elf? She’s not as
frigid as she pretends. Besides, you’re a good-looking man, and a strong one
too. Her being a woman, there’s no way she’d not care about you.”
Sheila ground her
teeth at his words. They were the most sexist thing she’d heard in a long time,
and she loved a man who had multiple wives and loves. Not that Lyden took after
his father’s personality, but whenever they were in public and people knew who
her master was, she heard the whispers and the mumblings. Many people didn’t
approve of his lifestyle. That was fine with her. They could disapprove all
they wanted. As long as they didn’t try to force their views on them.
“Thanks for the vote
of confidence, Dad,” Master spoke, “but I get the feeling that every time I’m
around, it’s all she can do not to kill me.”
“Love? Hate? They’re
both the same emotion, but different ends of the spectrum,” Shemhazau shrugged.
“Often times, one will lead to the other.”
Sheila thought of
Mandy. Emmett’s and Alloria’s daughter was evidence that the woman could
tolerate men. And hadn’t Sheila once despised and scorned Lyden until that
fateful day that he took her, and owned her soul? She didn’t think for a moment
that Alloria loved her master, but perhaps she respected him somewhere deep
down.
“What happened to
Gloria?” Master wanted to know.
“Gaia managed to
subdue her,” Sheila answered. “I don’t know what she was thinking, trying to
take on one of the Pillars. Master, she was scary with how strong she was.
Gaia, I mean. Promise me you’ll never have to fight her?”
“Why doesn’t Gaia
just heal me?” Lyden asked next, then answered his own question. “Because she’s
using most of her power to keep balance in the two worlds, and likely needs
some to keep Gloria in check. Damn it! I can’t reach Sheldon or Shelly to pull
them in to help heal me. I don’t dare pull in anyone else.”
Sheila knew he had to
be frustrated if he was swearing. Damn was the most minor of words he ever
used, but it took a lot to get Lyden Snow to swear.
“Well, I am here at
my mistress’s request,” a melodic voice broke in. They all turned to see
Alloria striding towards them. The woman was stunningly beautiful, but in that
very cold way some women have. Her long chestnut brown hair framed her face
perfectly as she walked. “You should feel honored that I would sully myself by
coming here, man.” Not even her sneer could mar her beauty.
“Alloria!” Shemhazau
crowed with glee. “What a wondrous site you are. It’s been—” He was cut off as
Alloria waved a hand at him. Leather handcuffs held his arms behind his back,
and he dropped into a kneeling position, some sort of harness holding him in
that pose. A muzzle wrapped around and covered his mouth, making it impossible
for him to speak. Sheila wondered where she could get a getup like that and
surprise Master with it sometime when they could enjoy themselves.
“If I wanted to hear
pigs squeal, I’ll go visit a farm,” Alloria said, then turned her back on the
bound old man. From his reputation, it didn’t surprise Sheila that Shemhazau
appeared to be enjoying the treatment.
“I thank you, and
appreciate your help,” Lyden said, full of diplomacy and with a slight bow.
“The sooner I’m healed, the sooner we can restore Arethusa and you won’t have
to deal with me. I know how much disdain you hold for me.”
Alloria regarded him
for a long moment before speaking. “You should be grateful, but if I’m being
honest, you’re not the worst representative of your kind, despite your life
choices.” The elf turned to look at Sheila, still on her knees before her
master, as she finished speaking.
Sheila opened her
mouth to let this uppity, man-hating bitch know exactly where she could shove
her opinion, but was interrupted by another arrival.
“Mom, dad, I’m so
sorry for the way I behaved,” Shelly said as she materialized within Master’s mens mundi.
“Shelly!” Lyden
exclaimed and ran to their daughter. Sheila was only a step behind because she
had to regain her feet. Both parents embraced their daughter for several long
moments. Sheila felt tears streaming from her eyes for the second time since
coming here, but didn’t care. Her daughter appeared to be back to normal.
“So, this is where
the pervert went to,” Sonia’s voice rang next. “My apologies, Ambassador Snow.
I sensed you trying to bring your daughter here, but I blocked them. We… um…
had some things to discuss first.”
Sheila glanced at the
android, wondering. Was she actually blushing? She must have some seriously
sophisticated programming.
Sheila didn’t miss
the way her daughter reached out for the synthetic being when they finally
released her. There wasn’t a look of love on Shelly’s face, but one of comfort.
Unlike Sheldon, who had received two girlfriends after having his heart broken,
Shelly had only received a companion. For her daughter’s sake, Sheila hoped it
was enough.
“And my mistress
needed her mind within her own body as she worked upon your daughter’s
pregnancy,” Alloria added.
“Dad, Mom…” Shelly
grew pensive as she stepped back and grimaced. Her hand rested on her stomach
in a way that could mean only one thing. “There are some things you should
know, and… and they aren’t going to be pleasant.”
Sheila took her daughter’s hand, and gave it a squeeze. Tears rolled
down Shelly’s face as she tried to build the courage to tell them what they
already knew.
“We know,” Master said. Two such simple words, and yet the effect they
had on Shelly was incredible. “We know, and we love you no matter what. It
wasn’t you fault, and we don’t blame you.”
* *
* *
Lyden awoke with fury
still in his heart. He’d meant what he told Shelly. He didn’t blame her for
what had happened to her, though he could see in her eyes that she still blamed
herself. No, he blamed Jessica, or more precisely, the nameless being that inhabited
her. He also blamed Aecus, and was thankful to Sonia for her actions in taking
the monster out. His heart broke, knowing that Shelly had to carry the baby to
term in order to ensure the world lived. What terrible burdens his children
carried, Shelly worst of all.
“Gaia!” he called
out. “We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” the
Pillar of Earth said as she formed out of the ground. “The preparations for
Arethusa’s revival are nearly complete. I’m glad to see you’re returned to
whole again.”
Hearing his fairy
lover’s name almost distracted him from his anger. Almost.
“You knew where Aecus
was all these years,” he accused her.
“Of course I did,”
she replied as though his statement was obvious.
“You know he’s been
trying to kill me for decades,” Lyden spat. “You claimed to care about me, yet
you let him live, and he raped my daughter!”
“I also let you
live,” she informed him in even tones. “He came to me many times, demanding to
know where you were so that he could kill you in retribution for TanaVesta’s death.
I never told him. There were also a few times one of his minions found you, and
they never made it back to report to him. I had to let him live, Lyden. His
ants are crucial for the survival of all creatures in both worlds. With him
dead, it’s all I can do to hold the ecology together long enough for your
daughter to bear that child.” Her gaze grew angry as she approached him. No,
anger wasn’t the right word. She was furious. “And don’t presume that my
feelings for you outweigh my responsibilities as the Pillar of Earth. Angela
may choose to put you first, but my responsibility is to all living things. Not
just you.”
“Angela puts me
first?” Lyden tried not to laugh as he grew incredulous. “She lied to me about
a child she bore. And that’s not even the first time she’s lied to me. She made
me young again, despite me telling her I didn’t want it. Angela serves herself
first.”
“You have so many
women in your life, and yet you still don’t understand us, do you?” Gaia asked,
some, but not all, of her rage slipping away. “I didn’t say she made the best
decisions. Only that she puts you above everyone, and everything, else. Yes,
she lied about Jessica…. To protect you. And I’m certain you’ve already made up
with her on that. And yes, she made you young again, not for her benefit, but
because she honestly thought that you would change your mind once the act was
done. I’ve noticed that you haven’t asked me to adjust your age back, despite
that being well within my abilities.”
She paused and placed
her pointer finger against her mouth as Lyden stood silently, contemplating her
words.
“Did you know, Lyden,
that every time you’re with the Pillar of Fire I have to work twice as hard in
order to stop volcanos from erupting, heatwaves from scorching portions of both
worlds, and even had to restore the rain forests a couple times. She puts you
first in ways that you never see.”
Lyden stood there,
stunned. He’d never known any of that. He knew that there were times when he
was with Gaia in the past that she lost a bit of her control, but he had no
idea that the same had happened with Angela. He should have, though. He knew
that Gaia had better control over her powers, than the relatively young Angela.
“Of course, I haven’t
asked you to readjust my age,” he snapped at her. “There have been more
important things than my age to concern us, or to use your power on.”
“Is that the only
reason?” she asked, one dark eyebrow rising as if to mock his assertion. “It
would only take me a moment, right now, to return you to that old body. The
power drain would be minimal, compared to everything else I’m already doing, or
have done for your family. Basically, it’ll be like blinking for me. I can even
make sure it’s painless. All you have to do is ask. Your body would age,
returning to its previous state, with all that entails.”
Lyden opened her
mouth to argue with her, then closed it. He didn’t appreciate what Angela had
done to him against his will, but now that he’d grown accustomed to it again,
did he really want to be old again? He remembered all his aches and pains that
came with old age. Sensations he’d grown used to over the years. Those were
gone now, and he had more energy, more vitality, to share with his wives.
But what had he lost?
His first thought was that he’d lost some of his dignity, but he knew that
wasn’t true. He still had the same mind, just in a younger body. And thanks to
illusion, he could still appear as old and dignified as he was before. Why had
he really been so upset about it? Why was he so against this? He enjoyed his
life, despite the dangers. He was happy with his wives, and happy with how his
life had turned out, despite its tragedies.
It occurred to him
that what bothered him, was that it had been done against his will. Now that it
had happened, and that he’d had time to accustom himself to his new youth, he
found that he truly didn’t want to give it up.
He also realized that
Gaia was starring at him, still waiting for his answer. He could see in her
dark eyes that she already knew it, and was just waiting for him to give her
that satisfaction.
“You said that we’re
ready to wake up Areth?” he said instead, changing the subject. The way her full
lips turned up said she wasn’t fooled. He hadn’t expected to succeed. He also
didn’t expect what she did next.
The ground beneath
her bare feet shifted, moving her forward until she embraced him. Her dark
brown arms pulled him tight into her bosom as she stared into his gray eyes. “I
said they were almost complete,” she grinned at him, and then leaned in and
kissed him. There was no heat or passion in the kiss, but Lyden found his arms
wrapping back around her. His anger bled from him, despite how fiery it burned
only moments before.
His hands slid up her
smooth back, and he was just starting to wonder if they had enough time for a
quickie, when she pulled away, a devilish grin on her face.
“Damn,” Oberon’s
voice cut through the fog filling his mind, “I’ll bet he’s rock hard after that kiss. Get it? ‘Rock hard’ because she’s—”
“We get it,” Bridget
groaned.
Lyden blinked as he
looked around, confused. They were in a new room. Gaia must have transported
them while they kissed. Now that she’d pulled away, he could tell that she’d
used her magic on him to increase his libido. He tried to glare at her, but she
faced away from him.
He noted that
everyone was in a circle, with Sheldon lying on his back in the middle, the
golden statue of Arethusa on his ragged breathing chest. Every now and then,
his face grimaced as though he were in pain, but other than that, he was
motionless.
He stepped up to move
next to Sheila, and only then noticed how tight his pants still were. He
couldn’t adjust himself while everyone was around, and mentally cursed Gaia for
her trick. His increased vitality also came with an increase in his sex drive
that he’d long forgotten. Chances were, he’d have to suffer through this
without relief.
He glanced around at
everyone else here. Sheila stood on his left, and even Brooke had arrived,
standing on his right. He still didn’t know how he felt about the revelation
about what was forced upon her by Jessica’s nameless being. By the tear stains
on her cheeks, and the concerned way she looked at him, he could see that the
revelation of what she’d done with their son tore her up.
“I love you,” he
whispered to her, and then felt his heart break as she pulled him into a hug
and cried into his shoulder. Jessica’s ghost was going to pay for what she’d
done. She was going to pay and suffer for the heartache she’d put his family
through.
“Dad,” Bridget spoke
up. “I’m so—”
He cut her off with a
look over his petit wife’s head. “It wasn’t your fault,” he told her. “I know
the power the Outsider’s hold, and how they can twist you to do things you’d
otherwise never do. I don’t blame you, or your other half for what happened.”
Brooke looked back at
their daughter as Lyden spoke. Bridget flickered into Brock’s strong form
within their mechanical legs. His wife flinched and tensed in his arms. It
might be a while before she could face the male aspect of their son, and he saw
the pain that crossed Brock’s face as he shifted back.
Oh yes, there would
be retribution for the pain caused to his family!
Oberon sat on
Bridget’s shoulder, and he tried to comfort her, also sensing her inner
turmoil. Despite his initial misgivings about the male fairy, he could see that
Oberon truly cared about his child. If only the fairy king weren’t such an
obnoxious little twit.
Gaia took up the
space next to Brooke’s and his child. Alloria stood next to her, holding one of
Mandy’s hands. Shlee stood on her other side, holding another hand. Mandy’s other
set of arms were folded across her chest as she and Shlee looked upon their
lover with concern.
Mei and Gokan were
next in the circle, their dragon mother, Blue, resting on her front paws behind
them. He rarely saw his children with Blue, as they chose to be more aloof, but
he was glad to see them here… Even if both were as naked as the day they
hatched.
The new redheaded
woman—Lyden thought her name was Megan—stood next to his half-dragon children.
He hadn’t had time to get a read on her, or how she felt about Sheldon. He’d
only received the briefest statement on why she was with his son. From what
he’d heard, he needed to have a talk with Lysa; Pillar of Air or not, her
behavior was questionable. And there was no way he approved of her sleeping
with the Pillar of Darkness.
Jennifer came next in
the circle. It came as a small surprise to him that she was fully clothed, even
if that clothing accentuated her robust figure. Her mien was serious as she
looked down at his son. Lyden was a little surprised to see her here, as he
knew she rarely left Angela’s domain, or her duties as the Pillar of Fire’s
personal security manager.
It took him a moment
to recognize the woman between Jennifer and Sonia. Her eyes were heavily
shadowed, and she appeared to be a lot frailer than he recalled. She was also
encased up to her hips in a solid piece of crystal. He felt his anger start to
rise once more as he pointed and asked, “What is she doing here?”
“I—” Gloria started
to say, but Sheila cut her off even as she tightened her grip on his hand. He
didn’t miss Shlee and Mandy turning dangerous glares her way as he waited for
an explanation.
“Gloria wasn’t under
her own control, Master,” Jennifer informed him. “Gaia, Brooke, Alloria, and
your dragon children helped her regain control while you recovered. She loves
him, and wants to help.” That was probably the least lewd statement he’d ever
heard Jennifer say. “Of course, with that cock of his, I can’t blame her for
falling for him.” That was the
Jennifer he knew.
He was about to ask
how they broke whatever spell Jessica’s ghost put on her, but remembered that
love had been the one thing that allowed his women to resist the Outsider when
it commanded them to kill him. Perhaps it was something like that? Except that
it’d looked like she was trying to kill Gaia, not Sheldon… He would have to ask
after they were done awakening Areth.
Lyden looked to
Shelly, and while she looked worn and haggard, she also looked determined as
she held Sheila’s other hand. He also noted that her pregnancy was already
showing a little bit. He recalled hearing something about Gaia helping her with
that, and wondered what else was done to his daughter. Was Shemhazau peering
out from behind her eyes, watching them, or was he sealed away unless summoned?
He grew impatient as
they waited, wondering what needed to be done to restore his fairy lover, and
his son to their natural states. He recalled what he was told about the ritual
performed to awaken him after his death, and dearly hoped it wouldn’t be
anything of the sort. He had no desire to participate in an orgy with his
children and their significant others.
“If we’re all ready,”
Oberon spoke up, standing upon Bridget’s shoulder. “Please hold the hand of the
person next to you, and concentrate on Sheldon and Arethusa. Bring up any
memories you have of both, especially of Arethusa. Remember the good and the
bad.”
Lyden looked to the
small statue and thought back to when he’d first seen Arethusa, trapped in
Marchosias’s storage closet. She was glued to a glowing orb that the demon
setup as a trap for such fairies. He’d managed to free her, and in so doing,
angered the too-attractive-for-his-own-good demon. Areth had called him a
pervert and other sorts of names, but in the end, she ended up being almost as
bad as Jennifer.
Oberon fluttered from
Bridget’s shoulder, and hovered over the two prone figures. As Lyden watched,
the male fairy moved his hands and arms in a rhythmic gesture, as though trying
to coax something from those below him. Lyden looked back down at his son, and
saw darkness seep from Sheldon’s pores. The young man began to shake, but somehow
didn’t budge the small statue on his chest.
Lyden knew that must
have been Lucifer’s blessing seeping from his son, and grew concerned when he
saw it start to swirl around Areth’s golden figure.
“Those holding the
elements, bring them forth,” Oberon intoned, his voice thick with effort. Eldon
noticed sweat beading on the tiny man’s brow. It didn’t look like he was doing
much, other than waving his hands, but his mien told a different story.
Alloria stepped into
the circle, reached into her pocket and pulled out a pile of dirt. With a twist
of her wrist, she dropped it on Sheldon and Areth.
A wind picked up, and
Lyden realized that Lysa must have been there, though invisible, as the dirt on
the two swirled into a small cyclone, centered over Areth’s small form. The
wind and dirt didn’t affect the Devil’s dark blessing.
Lyden wanted to talk to
her, to berate her for her actions, but knew that now was not the right time.
Blue’s head entered
the circle, her long neck stretching until her head was directly over the
center. Oberon moved from being in the line of fire. Lyden felt Sheila’s grip
tighten as the dragon breathed out a small flame, barely avoiding the
concentrating Oberon, into the cyclone. As she pulled her head back, the flame
remained lit in the center of the miniscule maelstrom.
Brooke release his
hand and stepped forward then. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a
moment, her hand outstretched. A moment later and a trickle of water dripped
from her palm, mixing with, but not extinguishing, the fire.
Lyden looked around,
wondering how the light would play into it. He already guessed that the
darkness came from Lucifer’s blessing as it continued to seep from his son to
surround Areth. He wondered that it didn’t join the cyclone, though.
Shlee and Mandy
stepped into the circle as Brooke pulled back next to Lyden. The two women
glared at Gloria as she joined them, her crystal shackles moving her frward,
but no one spoke. Then he realized that everyone else was looking to him.
He hadn’t been told
what to expect, and didn’t know what was needed of him.
“Of all of us, you
love Areth the most,” Sheila hissed at him.
Lyden blinked in
confusion. Yes, he loved Areth dearly, and he knew that the three women already
in the circle loved his son, but they were supposed to be giving elemental
gifts.
He remained standing
for only a moment longer, before Brooke nudged him and he stepped forward. Then
it dawned on him. Love was a form of light, and he was here to give his. At
least, he hoped that was what he was supposed to be doing.
He wondered why
Sheila wasn’t next to him, to give her love to their son. He didn’t doubt her
love for Sheldon in the least. Then he remembered that for every other element,
only one person had stepped forward. Alloria had delivered Earth, when Gaia
could have done the same.
But then again, there
were three women before him, to give their love to his son. He wished Becky
were still with them. She understood magic better than he did. Why hadn’t he
thought of his late wife lately? Something….
He shook his head,
focusing on the task at hand. He squatted down to look at the statue on his
son’s chest. Light from the elemental tornado reflected from her golden
features. He felt the warmth of his own memories surface in his chest, and had
to fight back a knot that threatened to form in his throat. Despite how vexing
she could be at times, Lyden loved and adored her. She was the most playful of
his women, and with the way things were going, he needed that light-heartedness
in his life again. Every one of his women brought something into his life that
he needed. No one was more or above any other. He needed them all.
“Return to me,
Areth,” he whispered. “I need you. I love you.”
He felt a tear slip
from his eyes and pull away, into the cyclone.
Regaining his feet,
he stepped back to his spot and gripped Brooke’s and Sheila’s hands once more.
Lyden watched,
waiting. That was all of the elements. They continued to swirl above the two
figures as Oberon continued to move his arms, mixing them.
Nothing else
happened.
Had they failed? Did
they make a mistake? Was there not enough of something? All these questions
flit through his mind as anguish threatened to choke his heart. He was so close
to getting Areth back. His hope was something he’d ignored until now, but as he
watched and waited, despair filled in the cracks.
“But I’m the least
innocent one here,” he heard Sonia argue. He looked up and saw that Shelly and
the android were having a heated argument.
“It’s now or never,”
Oberon commanded, his voice stretched thin with effort.
Lyden watched as
Shelly dragged her girlfriend forward. They didn’t face the prone couple, but
each other. Shelly hugged Sonia tight. Oberon gestured one hand out, and a bolt
of pink lightning flashed from the couple into the maelstrom.
“Oh!” Shelly and
Sonia gasped at the same time, before returning to their spots. Lyden was still
confused. Sonia used to be a spy, and a seductress android. How could she be
considered innocent? And while he might be her father, he knew his daughter
wasn’t all that innocent either.
Unless… Shelly’s
experience having all of her guilt removed from her by the angel could be
considered a type of innocence. And While Sonia was in no way innocent to the
ways of the world, she was new to her own portion of soul, and to what love truly
was. He didn’t know if that was his answer, but a groan from Oberon brought his
attention back to the center.
Gaia finally entered
the circle, but instead of walking to the center, she placed herself in front
of Lyden. He met her brown eyes, and suddenly became aware that despite
everything else going on, he was still hard. In fact, as Gaia continued to
regard him, he could feel his lusts rising. Part of his mind knew that this
wasn’t the time, nor the place for fooling around, but it was getting
overwhelmed by a powerful urge to release himself.
He tightened his grip
on his women’s hands, refusing to give into that temptation right then. He was
here to restore Areth and his son. He was not here to get his rocks off!
“You’ve developed
quite the willpower,” Gaia smiled at him. His knees almost buckled as her hand
shot forward and cupped his groin. He felt a powerful release, not of
ejaculate, but of some other energy as Gaia’s eyes fluttered. “So much life
energy,” she purred, then turned away from him. “So much vitality.”
Lyden tried to catch
his breath as he watched Gaia hold a bright ball of light about seven inches
across out to the cyclone. It pulled away from her hand and as it connected
with the swirling elements, they flashed bright enough to leave motes in his
vision.
Lyden noted how gaunt
and tired Gaia looked as she returned to her spot int the circle. He knew she
would need a recharge before he left. A recharge that she had ensured he would
be up to doing.
The darkness pooling
out of Sheldon stopped soaking into Areth, and was pulled up into the cyclone,
pulling away from both. The vortex no longer showed its separate elements, but
consisted of a vibrant golden color, slightly brighter than Areth’s normal hue.
As the Pillar of Darkness’s paradox was swept into it, it darkened to match her
coloration. Despite his colorblindness, Lyden noted the moment the two colors
came into alignment.
The swirling stopped,
and in its place was a long, thin golden spike, poised over Areth’s and
Sheldon’s hearts.
With one last cry of
effort, Oberon shot down, slamming his small body, feet first into the smooth
top of the barb. Before he could even fathom what was happening, the tip
pierced through Areth, though Sheldon, and he could hear it impact the floor
beneath. Oberon’s feet were flat on Areth’s chest.
In shock, Lyden
stared, certain that he’d witnessed the murder of his son and wife.
* *
* *
Eldon crowed in
triumph. No one could defeat him. With a flourish, he twirled the bastard sword
in one hand. Despite its size, it felt light as a feather to him.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
He screamed to the cheering crowd. “Give me a challenge.”
He couldn’t remember
how long he fought, or how many fights he’d won. He couldn’t even remember how
he came to this arena. All he knew was the constant combat, and unending
victory. He’d take wounds from time to time, but his body always healed back
up, and he never lost.
Three ogres appeared
before him. One, the largest of the group, swung a tree trunk sized club at
him. He dodged it with ease, and counter-attacked with his blade. The
counterattack hit home, and the ogre bellowed in pain and rage as he clutched
the stump of his arm.
The other two ogres
chose that moment to strike, and while he managed to dodge the one swinging a
chain at him, the one with the spiked mace connected with his chest. He felt the
spikes pierce through him as his ribs cracked and his lungs collapsed. The blow
was strong enough to launch him into the air, and he came off the end of the
mace, his blood splattering the sand of the arena floor before he hit it.
Shaking his head,
Sheldon stood up. He ignored his wounds, knowing that they would heal on their
own. He couldn’t breathe, but then again, he felt no need for air.
He saw someone appear
momentarily before him. He thought he might recognize her, but as she dumped
something in the dirt, she disappeared. A wind blew in and swirled dirt into
the ogres’ eyes as they prepared to renew their attack.
Eldon leaped forward,
ready to take advantage of his blinded opponents, but a blue dragon appeared
from nowhere and set them ablaze.
Dumbstruck, Sheldon
looked around confused. The crowd started to boo him. What was happening. He
could fight his own fights. Why were these others interfering?
The three charred
corpses melted into the ground. Eldon ignored the jeers, and waited for his
next challenge. He would sweep in and destroy them before anyone, or anything,
could interfere.
As he waited, he felt
something wet strike his cheek. Touching the spot, he pulled his hand away to
see it was nothing more than rain. As he stared at his hand, the rain started
to come down harder and faster. The crowd continued to mock him, ignoring the
downpour. The clouds overhead blocked out any sunlight, and for the first time,
Eldon grew nervous. He knew he couldn’t be killed, but he didn’t like not being
able to see. This was different than anything else he’d faced so far. Something
about this change made him nervous, even though he wasn’t being attacked, and
knew he couldn’t permanently be hurt.
“We’re here for you,”
a female voice said behind him. He turned to see Shlee, Mandy, and…
“Gloria?!” he shouted
as he saw the three glowing women. Before he could move to them, they vanished
like the other apparitions. He realized the rain had stopped, and while
darkness still surrounded him, it wasn’t as dark as it was a moment before.
Silence fell with
such abruptness that he feared he’d lost his hearing. The booing of the crowd,
and the patter of rain cutting off with such finality, it was deafening.
“Hello?” he shouted,
and then sighed with relief as he heard his own voice. Whatever was going on,
he was certain he would make it through. He swung his sword a few times, just
in case his attackers were hiding in the darkness.
White light flared
before him, blinding him once more. He covered his eyes with his left hand
while he swung wildly with the blade in his right. What was happening? Who was
causing all of this chaos?
“What kind of
perverted things have you been doing in here?” a familiar voice asked. A voice
he’d never thought he’d hear again.
He spun around to
greet Areth, but before he could speak, she thrust a spear through his heart.
This wasn’t the first
time he received wounds in this arena, but never before had it hurt so much.
Pain radiated out from the pole sticking out of his chest. In horror, he
watched as his blood seeped from this wound, and ran down the length until it
contacted Areth’s tiny hand. Somehow, the spear was full sized, but fit
perfectly in her small grip.
Unlike the previous
appearances, Areth didn’t vanish after a moment. In fact, as he watched, she seemed
to grow solid, more distinct. And as she did, he felt himself becoming less so.
He saw that his blood wasn’t staining her hands, but instead, being absorbed
into her as she took in his essence.
His sword fell from
numb fingers. He brought his other hand up before his face. He wasn’t
transparent, but he knew that if she continued to drain him, he would vanish and
become nothing.
He looked at where
the spear entered his chest, and his fear grew. Black lines radiated out as his
life’s blood ran down the pole. He dropped to his knees; his legs no longer
able to support him.
“Areth,” he gasped,
struggling to draw in breath, “you’re killing me.”
“What?” she asked,
looking down on him. Her face was full of innocence and curiosity. “No. Your
dad loved to stick his spear in me all the time, and it never killed me.
Besides that first time, it never even hurt.”
He stared at her in
shock, unsure if she were joking, or oblivious to what was happening. His hands
came up to grip the spear’s hilt. With a groan of pain, he managed to pull it
free from his body.
But that’s when the
true agony overwhelmed him.
* *
* *
“Sheldon!” A voice
called out to him from the darkness.
“Mom?” he tried to
form the word to answer back, but couldn’t be sure he succeeded.
“Eldon, my love,”
another female voice spoke to him. “Come back to me. To us.”
“He was having some
really perverted dreams,” Areth’s voice announced. “Full of ogres, and other
monsters. He was sticking his sword in anything that moved.”
“No,” he croaked,
forcing the word past a dry throat and through parched lips. Why did Areth
always have to take things too far? He tried to say more, but only managed to
cough.
“He needs liquids,”
another female voice announced. “Allow me.”
He felt something
press against his lips. A warm, but sweet liquid flowed into his mouth. He
swallowed by instinct, more than reflex or intent, and felt energy course
through his body.
“See! Perverted!”
Areth crowed with laughter.
“Are you sure he
needed that, in particular?” another female voice asked. This one was annoyed,
but the mere sound of it forced his eyes open as his heart lurched.
He wasn’t prepared
for what he saw. Gaia, Mother Earth, The Pillar of Earth, and arguably one of
the most powerful and influential Pillars, had her dark brown breast out,
feeding him her breastmilk, with his head cradled in her arms. Around them
stood much of his family, Shlee, Mandy, Megan, Alloria, and other familiar
faces. But the one that drew his gaze the most as he spluttered and tried to
remove himself from Gaia’s iron grip was Gloria’s sweet face.
“Gloria, what…” he
struggled to break free, but Gaia shoved her tit back into his mouth. Some of
the warm liquid slipped from his lips, and he could feel it dripping down his
cheek.
“You lost a lot of
strength, and this will be the best way to restore it,” she glared down at him.
“Don’t get any funny ideas, though. This is only
to restore your strength.”
He had the choice to
either drown, or swallow, as his mouth filled with her life-giving fluid.
He saw Mandy and
Shlee both wince and glare at the ancient goddess, and realized his mistake in
calling out to the woman who’d spurned him, before acknowledging them.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t offer them an apology, or anything with his mouth
full. He tried to convey it to them with his eyes, to tell them he loved them,
but they wouldn’t look his way.
He saw his young
father, holding Areth’s reanimated body. She’d grown herself to full size, and
was holding onto him, smiling and commenting on how good he looked.
At least she’s back, he thought, happy for his
father, while also wishing him all the trouble she would cause for him. But why is Gloria here?
“That’s enough,” he
managed to say after a few more moments of being force fed like a baby. “I
think I’ll survive, now.” This time he succeeded in pulling away from the
Earthen woman, and unsteadily got to his feet. He made sure to move to Mandy
and Shlee first, and pulled them into a hug. “I love you both. I’m sorry for…”
He didn’t know what he should be sorry for, besides calling to Gloria first, and
didn’t know how to put that into words. “Sorry for everything,” he finished,
feeling that was inadequate, but unsure of what else to say.
After a moment, he
felt their arms wrap around him, pulling him in tight. Tight enough that he had
to gasp as his ribs cracked. “We’ll talk about it later,” Shlee growled in his
right ear. He felt her teeth graze his neck, letting him know that he wasn’t
forgiven. When he felt her tongue next, he knew that they would be okay.
“We’ll talk about it
later,” Mandy informed him next. “You missed a lot, but I’m glad you’re all
right.”
“If you ladies
wouldn’t mind, I’d like to hug my son,” his mom cut in, and they released him.
They remained close as Sheila enfolded him in her arms and cried softly into
his shoulder. “We thought we lost you for a moment,” she sobbed. Despite how
embarrassed he felt having his mother hold him like that, he pulled her tighter
into the hug to reassure her. His mom was a strong woman, so to see her like
this told him how much she loved him.
With his girlfriends’
eyes on him, he made a strong point to not
look at Gloria. Of course, he’d forgotten that she could read his mind, as he
continued to wonder why she was there.
“I was ordered to
kill Gaia,” Gloria’s voice answered his unasked questions. “When she made it
clear that killing her would doom you, I was able to resist. I broke free from
Jessica’s control. I—”
“You’ll forgive me if
I don’t release you on your word alone,” Gaia spoke up, interrupting the other
woman.
Eldon looked and saw
what he hadn't noticed before. Gloria’s arms and legs were encased in solid
crystal, that he suspected was diamond. Her torso was free, as was her head,
but she wasn’t going anywhere.
“I have a feeling
I've missed something,” he said as he stepped away from his mother.
“You missed a lot
more than you know,” Shelly told him. “But at least you’re no longer glowing.”
He looked at his twin
sister, and then looked again. She was definitely looking pregnant. How long
was he out?
“Oh, and then I want
you to do me in the ass while your slave licks my pussy, and I suck on Brooke’s
tiny titties,” Areth’s voice broke in, a weird counterpoint to the serious mood
of everyone else. “But don’t get any perverted ideas. It’s just been a while.”
====================
From the Author
====================
The next chapter is coming along........ slowly. I make NO promises, other than that I am working on it.
I know some of you are upset with what has happened to Shelly... There is no worse situation I can think of to put onto someone. She doesn't deserve it. All I will say is to be patient. She has a story arc coming that she will come out stronger on the other side. Unfortunately, pain is often required for growth. And she is set to suffer.
I know this chapter was light in the erotic arena, and the next one will be the same. Yes, there are a couple places I could have put something, but doing so would have been a bit forced. I want to make these stories, um, well, maybe not believable, but also not something that makes the reader pull out of the story. In other words, the story comes first,and the fun stuff (plentiful as it is in my writing) is second priority.
For now, please leave a comment below, telling me how I'm doing. Even if it is to critique my choices, or writing style, or tell me any ideas you have for the final book in this series. I read all comments, and reply where warranted, but I do read and appreciate them all.
The next chapter is coming along........ slowly. I make NO promises, other than that I am working on it.
I know some of you are upset with what has happened to Shelly... There is no worse situation I can think of to put onto someone. She doesn't deserve it. All I will say is to be patient. She has a story arc coming that she will come out stronger on the other side. Unfortunately, pain is often required for growth. And she is set to suffer.
I know this chapter was light in the erotic arena, and the next one will be the same. Yes, there are a couple places I could have put something, but doing so would have been a bit forced. I want to make these stories, um, well, maybe not believable, but also not something that makes the reader pull out of the story. In other words, the story comes first,and the fun stuff (plentiful as it is in my writing) is second priority.
For now, please leave a comment below, telling me how I'm doing. Even if it is to critique my choices, or writing style, or tell me any ideas you have for the final book in this series. I read all comments, and reply where warranted, but I do read and appreciate them all.
 |
| The Shadow World Map |
The Succubae Seduction 2: The Twins, Chapter 22
Lyden gets a crash course on the nature of reality, while Shelly struggles to come to terms with everything that's been done to her and her family
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = =
Chapter 22
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = =
Universal Creation
Lyden collapsed back
onto the plush bed, feeling more alive than he had in years. Thanks to Angela’s
magic turning back his internal clock and making him younger, he wasn’t even
out of breath after…
“Your abilities as a
generator seemed to have gained some strength as well as your libido,” Gaia
sighed next to him. “I’ll have to make sure and thank the Pillar of Fire for
that.”
“My libido, or your
magic forcing me?” Lyden demanded, acid entering his tone. “You know I hate
when you do that.” Gaia was great in the sack, but he didn’t love her. After
the Chaos War, he’d done his best to stick with only the women he loved. It
wasn’t just to protect the fact that he still had some of his abilities as a
generator, but to show that he respected his wives.
“I know,” Gaia
chuckled. She didn’t bother covering up her naked body, and her dark supple
breasts jiggled with the movement. “But do you have any idea how hard it is to
maintain this world with three new Pillars? I need the strength you give me,
and I at least try to give as well as I get.”
“You could have at least let us participate,” Brooke
growled from where she sat frozen in a chair.
“Maybe twenty years ago, when he was at full
strength,” Gaia shook her head. “The strength he just gave me is already
getting used up. Any chance I can keep him here? I promise not to always be
selfish. Just once a day to myself, and you can have him the rest of the time.
You have no idea how much easier it is to support this world after a little
Lyden infusion.” As if there was any doubt to her meaning, she reached between
her spread legs and scooped some of his leaking cum out. Bringing the hand to
her thick lips, she licked them clean.
“Don’t talk about my future as though it weren’t my
choice,” Lyden snapped and got up from the bed. He reached for his clothes, but
stopped. It wasn’t his decision to stop, but his body refused to move under his
own will.
“Your future is not your choice to make, Lyden Snow,”
Gaia’s voice dropped into levels as cold as his last name. “You live because I
allow you to live. It has ever been that way, for you. Why do you think I
allowed you to live twenty years ago? Fujin was already dead the first time we
met, and the power I took from you at that meeting lasted for months. Even when
Angela took over after TanaVesta’s death, you were strong enough to supply me
with power so that I wasn’t too stressed. Now that Varun is dead, it’s all I
can do to support this world.”
“What about the Pillars of Light and Darkness?” Sheila
demanded from her spot next to Brooke. She’d handled being frozen easier than
Brooke, but Lyden could tell from the way the wrinkles at the corners of her
eyes creased that she was losing her patience. “Aren’t they doing anything?”
“Their mere existence is doing more than the other
three new Pillars,” Gaia scoffed, “but they have hardly ever put in the effort
that I have. Darkness has always enjoyed a bit of chaos, and no one has seen or
heard from the Pillar of Light in over a century. Light’s minions have
continued on with Her works in her name, but she has distanced herself from
either reality.”
“Her?” Lyden asked. “I thought God was a man.”
“Of course you did,” Gaia scoffed, her voice growing
condescending. “Men fuck things up. Women create. It was your Christianity that
convinced the world that God was a man. I think it’s part of the reason she
turned her back on everything, and has remained silent for so long.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a woman. Can’t let a grudge
go.” Lyden knew his words and tone were a poor choice, but he didn’t like the
way he was being treated. He didn’t like Mother Nature making him so horny that
he jumped the first woman available. He didn’t like the way she made Brooke and
Sheila watch as he lost all control. At least Bridget and her boyfriend were
outside the room so they didn’t have to watch the debauchery.
As if to prove his point though, Gaia stood and walked
away from him, robes made of weaved grass forming and flowing over her ebony
body. He found himself able to move again as soon as she left the room.
“Did you have to intentionally provoke her?” Brooke
asked. She was bent over, rubbing feeling back into her legs. “While I
appreciate that you didn’t completely forget about us while making her squeal;
pissing her off right after making her climax isn’t a great idea.”
“I think he lost some of his wisdom when Angela made
him young again,” Sheila said. Lyden had talked to her about convincing Angela
to do the same for her, but she’d refused. Sometimes, though, her comments made
him think she was jealous of his re-found youth.
That was another thing that rankled him. He’d
forgotten the type of energy he had when he was younger, and the absence of so
many pains that he’d simply gotten used to was a shock as well. He was more
awake, more agile, and as Gaia had proved a few minutes ago, more virile.
“If you’re quite done in here, my mistress would like
to talk to you out here,” Alloria’s haughty voice filtered in. She looked just
as young and stunningly beautiful as the first time he’d seen her.
Unfortunately, the coldness in her eyes and attitude towards all men was still
the same as well. He watched as the last remaining elf turned to the women in
the room, and her face softened. They had survived the chaos war together, and
while Alloria may hate Lyden on the simple principle that he was a man, she was
friends with all of Lyden’s women, except perhaps Angela.
“I’ll be right out,” he said, though the women were
too busy hugging one another to listen to him. Utterly ignored, Lyden pulled on
his shoes, and headed from the room.
The anteroom was round and lined with couches in a
curved ‘U’ shape with a small opening at the bottom of the ‘U’ for the
entryway. A large table filled the center with various foods, snacks, and
drinks. One wall was completely missing, opening to the elements, high up in
Gaia’s mountain home. In front of that open expanse, sat a dais with Gaia
seated upon it like a queen.
“Hey, Dad!” Oberon waved and fluttered up to his face.
Lyden tried not to grind his teeth at the fairy king.
“Dad?” he asked back, an edge to his voice that asked many questions all at
once. He didn’t like the tiny man, and didn’t like that his child with Brooke
was dating him. Bridget or Brock could do so much better, even if the pipsqueak
was the ruler of all fairy kind.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell him until the time was
right,” Bridget complained.
“After what we heard going on in that room, Toots, how
could this not be the right time?” Oberon zipped back to his girl’s side. “Any
man is happy after getting his rocks off.”
“Do you have to call her Toots,” Lyden demanded. His mood was going from foul, to dangerous.
“Better than what I call her when we’re alone,” Oberon
cackled. “Am I right, old man? You know what I’m talking about!” Oberon winked
at Lyden as though sharing a poorly kept secret.
“Oberon!” Bridget snapped, her cheeks turning crimson,
and the little man sobered up.
“I’m sorry, my love. My honey. My sweet, sweet,
fiancée,” Oberon’s voice rose in pitch as he wheedled to his girlfriend. “I’m
just so filled with love and devotion that it’s hard to keep it all inside.
I’ve been doing better on my language, though, right?”
“Fiancée?” Lyden screamed in outrage.
“Fiancée!” Brooke echoed, but with joy in her dulcet
voice.
“Like hell I’m going to let you two get married,”
Lyden stepped towards the couple, ready to let them know how stupid they were
being. “You’ve barely been together for very long. You don’t know what you’re
getting into! And if you think—”
Brooke’s hand on his shoulder stopped his tirade
before he could build to full steam.
Bridget shimmered in her mechanical legs and Brock
took her place. “I do think, Dad, and it’s not your decision to make. We love
each other. He accepts me for who I am, both
sides of me. He treats me well, despite what you might think. Can’t you be
happy for us?”
Lyden opened his mouth to argue back, but saw this was
a battle he was going to lose. He hadn’t lost his wisdom, no matter what Sheila
might think of him. Oberon could support them, and since Brock was now mobile
with his mechanical legs, he didn’t require the amount of care he once did.
Oberon was powerful magically as well, and Brock had proven he was capable of
handling himself. Setting all that aside, he could see how Oberon doted on his
child, and there could be no doubt that he loved Brock and Bridget both.
Was he jealous because he no longer had the love of
his fairy? He didn’t think so. If Sheldon and Shelly were successful, he would
be reunited with Areth soon. It still bothered him that he was sent here to
help stop Jessica, instead of going to return Areth from her statue prison.
“I’m so happy for you two,” Sheila betrayed Lyden and
went to the happy couple. “Have you thought about what you’ll name the kids?”
“Kids?!” Brock squeaked and changed back into Bridget.
“I’m not sure if we can even have kids!”
“You can,” Gaia broke in, “but you’ll have to stay as
a female during the entire pregnancy. Switch, and you’ll kill any unborn child.
I know you have a lot to talk about right now, but time is growing short, and
after our conversation a bit ago, Lyden, I realize I need to inform you of how
reality—as you know it—came to be.”
“Is now really the time?” Lyden turned to the woman,
upset at her intrusion. This was a family affair and didn’t involve her. While
he was happy that his child had a significant other—even if that significant
other was a tiny, obnoxious, foul-mouthed, pipsqueak, immature fairy king—he
worried about how that love came to be. What if Gloria’s spell wore off? Worse,
what if she came back, and reversed it? He didn’t want to see his child
devastated by that kind of torment.
“No, but there isn’t enough time before… before other
events occur, stopping me from telling you.” Gaia’s stern gaze met his for a
few seconds before he finally nodded. If she was that adamant, it had to be
important. “You need to understand how the universe was created, in order to
understand the type of enemy you’re up against.”
“Jessica has something to do with the creation of the
world?” Sheila asked.
“No, the creature that resides within her is part
Outsider,” Gaia answered. “Jessica is not fully at fault for what she does, as
she has a portion of an Outsider residing inside her.”
“I’ve been up against Outsiders before,” Lyden said.
“You didn’t tell me this information then. Why is it so important now?”
“Because then, I didn’t trust you.” Gaia’s blunt
response set Lyden back. She hadn’t trusted
him? She gave him use of her adamantium. Helped him at every opportunity. Even
helped him replace two other Pillars, and she hadn’t trusted him?
She must have seen something in his eyes, because she
shook her head with a bit of regret. “You know that Generators were outlawed by
the Pillars because of the great power they could wield. A generator gathers
followers that are completely and utterly loyal to them. Not only could they
generate power on their own, magnifying what was given to them by others, but
it was too easy for that power to go to their heads. Add to that, that
generators are one of the few creatures that can kill a First, and is there any
wonder why I didn’t trust you?”
“But you do now?” This time it was Brooke who spoke.
“I’m afraid I’ve been sampling a little too much of
your husband,” Gaia said, her voice stuffed to the brim with remorse. “After
the chaos war, I stayed away from him, even though I suspected he might still
be a bit of a generator. If he was, it was my duty to kill him, even though it
was me, and my life-milk that ensured he lived through his final battle with
the Outsiders. It’s another reason why I waited six months before reviving him.
Even then, I was attached to him, despite having been with him so little. I
convinced myself that it was for the best that I stay away.”
“What changed?” Sheila asked.
“She needed more strength,” Lyden supplied, already
having worked it out. “The strain of supporting this world with three new
Pillars was becoming too much, and so you seduced me. You already suspected
that I still had some of my powers, and hoped you were right. But this time,
you couldn’t kill me, because once again, you need me. I’m a tool to you, to be
used.”
He watched as his words hurt her, but he didn’t care.
He was tired of being used. He was tired of being forced into actions he didn’t
want to perform on his own. He was tired of the deceit, the secrecy, and
everything else that surrounded him.
“You’re in love with him,” Brooke spoke up when Gaia
and Lyden only stared at each other. Gaia’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears,
while Lyden’s held contempt. “You’ve been with him too many times, and even
though it was against his will, you’re now one of his loyal followers.”
“I don’t think this is a conversation I want to be a
part of,” Bridget interrupted, and tried to walk her mechanical legs out.
“But this is so entertaining, Love Muffin,” Oberon
objected.
“You’re staying,” Gaia’s words held absolute command,
despite the anguish on her face. Neither one left; Oberon sitting on Bridget’s
shoulder.
“There’s something I’ve always wondered,” Lyden spoke
again, working hard to keep his voice calm, despite his growing anger inside.
“TanaVesta raped me many times while I was her prisoner. Many more times than
we’ve been together, yet she never fell for me. I always assumed it was because
she was a Pillar, or because it was against my will. While you aren’t violent,
like the previous Pillar of Fire, it wasn’t of my complete choosing every time.
Why didn’t she become loyal to me?”
“You make us sound like mindless drones,” Sheila
grumbled.
“Silent, Slave,” he turned and commanded her. He
allowed a small grin to turn the corners of his lips to show he was partly
trying to lighten the mood. The way she dropped to her knees and bowed to him
made him worry. He knew his women weren’t mindless slaves, or drones. They had
acted numerous times on their own, and sometimes against his wishes. He also
never doubted their love… Except for maybe Angela, but that was a mess he
didn’t want to consider. After a second, Sheila turned her face up to him, and
gave him a look that told him he would experience some of her free will later.
Gaia watched the whole exchange before speaking, her
voice becoming emotionless, though her brown eyes told another story. “I
believe in some way she did care for you, Lyden. With her power, there are
thousands of ways she could have killed you. Yet, every time she sent an
assassin it was something you could defeat. There was always a way for you to
escape. She had no choice, because the Outsider forced her to try to kill you,
but she always failed. Even at the end. Had she used her full power while you
fought her in her home, you would have been incinerated instantly. She allowed
you to finish her off, rather than kill you.”
Lyden found himself sitting down, stunned. He was
never proud about killing another creature, except perhaps the Outsiders—but to
find out that one of his greatest victories was false…. Or perhaps not false,
but not as great as he’d thought, made him question everything else. Could he
have convinced her to work with them, instead of against him? Could she have
become a powerful ally, instead of the monster she’d become? He didn’t have the
answers to those questions, and didn’t know if he wanted them.
“Then why couldn’t Varun kill me so easily?” Lyden’s
voice cracked as he spoke. “Surely he was just as powerful, and I’d entered his
domain many times.”
“Varun was half mad from the torture TanaVesta gave
him,” Brooke supplied. “I don’t think he was ever sane again after that.”
Lyden looked from Brooke, to Sheila, and finally back
to Gaia. Despite all his woes, battles, and hard-won victories—false or
otherwise—he’d led a charmed life. Who was he to complain that he was
mistreated because of his powers?
“You need my strength as a generator to keep functioning,
correct?” Lyden asked after giving it some thought. He waited for Gaia to give
a hesitant nod before continuing. “Why don’t the other two original pillars?”
Gaia seemed to consider his question for a long time.
Just when Lyden decided that she wasn’t going to answer, she spoke. “The Pillar
of Darkness has managed to find another source of strength that is not my place
to tell you about. As for the Pillar of Light…. Well, you’d better let me tell
you about how the universe was created. Our time is short, so stop
interrupting.”
Lyden grimaced, but waved his hand for her to
continue.
“This reality—both of our worlds and the universe the
worlds exist in—didn’t exist in the beginning,” Gaia began. “Chaos was
everything. There aren’t words that can explain what that means. Even the word
chaos is inaccurate, as it gives an ordered set of letters to a term that
refers to something completely without order. Up isn’t just down in chaos, it’s
also the letter H, and Tuesday, and the smell of bread, and everything all at
once, while somehow remaining absolutely nothing. Chaos cannot be defined,
because the second it is, it’s no longer chaos.
“We call them Outsiders now, but I, and every other
First, was once one of them. We existed in that chaos, without a proper
thought, or existence, and yet we thought and we existed. The only thing that
didn’t exist in all of chaos was order. Order was anathema to everything that
we were. Just as you can’t properly conceive of what true chaos is, we couldn’t
conceive order.
“Until one of us created order by accident.” Gaia’s
eyes turned far away as she spoke. Her voice carried a note of nostalgia that
made Lyden want to shiver. When she continued, the sadness in her voice was one
of remembered pain, and longing long since forgotten. “It was short lived, and
faded back into chaos. The one that had created it was stunned. It had hurt, a
novel experience in itself, but it also became fascinated with the idea. It
tried to make order again, but failed. Time has no meaning there, but the
creature tried and tried again, without success. Despite this, many of us
watched this one creature try and try again. We’d sensed its creation of order,
and were also intrigued. Well, intrigued isn’t the right word, but I’m not
going to attempt to explain chaos again. That’s the closest word I can use to
describe what we felt.
“The problem was chaos’s nature. Every time the
creature tried to make order, it did something different. It wasn’t until it
came upon the idea of doing the exact same thing as it had before, that it
succeeded.”
“Wait,” Bridget cut in, “why didn’t it do that to
begin with? Why keep trying something other than what had been successful the
first time?”
“Because chaos can’t work that way, dear,” Brooke
said, trying to hush her. “It wouldn’t have made sense to a creature of chaos
to act in anything other than a chaotic manner.”
Gaia glared at them, but nodded. “The mere act of
doing the same thing as before was order, and because this time it was
deliberate, the spark of order was much greater. Your scientists call this the
big bang. Order grew at such a fast rate, that it swallowed all that watched. I
can’t describe to you the pain and agony that we suffered for millennia, while
we became accustomed to our new reality.
“As sanity—another creation of order—found its way
into us, some of us banded together. We were the Firsts. We gained sanity
faster than others. We joined together and created what you now call the Milky
Way Galaxy and your solar system. As others that were swallowed up learned to
cope with order, they created their own galaxies and worlds.”
“So, aliens really do exist,” Lyden spoke before he
could think better of it. Gaia glared at him, but he noted that her glare
wasn’t as strong as it had been for Bridget. He ignored her look, and continued
on, instead. “You said that order caused them pain. I remember hearing that
before the Chaos War as well. That’s why those that remain out there want to
destroy our reality.”
“Yes,” Gaia nodded. “Basically, we live in a growing
bubble of order, floating within an infinitely larger sea of chaos. They want
to pop our bubble.”
Something in her statement made Oberon chuckle, but
every ignored him.
“Who was the first First?” Sheila asked. She’d
regained her feet during the lesson, and had come to sit next to Lyden. “I
mean, who was the one that created the spark of order?”
“You know her as the Pillar of Light,” Gaia replied.
“Something about the fact that she created everything makes her able to support
this world without the need of a generator of her own.”
“But she needs the other Pillars in order to keep this
world?” Lyden asked, not sure on that point.
“If one more original Pillar falls, even if someone
were to take their place immediately, then this world would crumble, and return
to your world. It may even be enough to cause order to collapse in on itself,
and start a chain reaction that would return everything to chaos. If that
happens, everything you know, and everyone in existence would vanish.”
“What would happen to the remaining Firsts?” Brooke
asked.
“We’ve been here too long,” Gaia shook her head. “Our
minds have become too ordered. Even if we were to survive the transition, the
other creatures of chaos would destroy us because we represent order.”
Lyden sat, taking all of that in. It was weird to get
the story of the creation of the universe from someone who had actually lived
through it. He didn’t know what to make of it all, but it put into perspective
what they were trying to protect.
“Now you know what you’re up against,” Gaia said, as
though reading his thoughts. “And I hope you can forgive me for doing what I
had to, in order to support this world.”
Lyden felt his anger rise up again. “You could have at
least asked me,” he snapped at her.
“And you would have denied me in order to protect your
secret,” Gaia replied, the hurt returning to her eyes.
“True,” he admitted, “but it would have been easier to
forgive you, now that I know the truth.”
“You can forgive me?” she asked, hope blossoming
across her face.
“That depends,” he told her, intentionally stomping on
that hope. “If you ask next time, I might try. Force me again, and I will never
forgive you.”
He watched her mouth the words, “Next time,” and
grimaced at his choice of words. He understood that there would need to be a
next time in order to keep her strength up. While he couldn’t deny that having
sex with Mother Earth was quite pleasurable, he didn’t appreciate being used as
a tool.
“How is it, Master,” Sheila asked next to him, “that
you are able to wrap every woman in your life around your finger? It has to be
more than you just being a Generator.”
Instead of giving her an answer, he leaned over and
kissed her lightly on the lips. She pulled him tighter into the kiss, and he
felt her teeth before she released him. Yeah, she was going to make him pay for
his command earlier. Chances were that he was going to enjoy that as well.
“Sorry to interrupt,” a new voice broke into the room,
“and I’m truly sorry to have to do this, Gaia.”
Everyone turned to see Gloria stride in, sword in one
hand and a golden girdle around her waist. She was in full Aphrodite battle
mode. Lyden jumped to his feet, uncertain what was going on.
“I understand this isn’t by your choice,” Gaia replied
in somber tones. “And I’ve been expecting you. You’re right on time.”
“I always thought of you as a friend,” Gloria said as
tears streamed down her cheeks. Before anyone could respond or react, Gloria
leapt forward, sword glimmering in the light to kill the Pillar of Earth.
*
* * *
Shelly ran to her brother as he dropped to his knees.
She had to shove the redhead away from him. His scream was one filled with the
deepest, darkest agony. She was sure that he would recover any minute as his
body returned to its permanent state.
Hunched over, Sheldon screamed his throat raw, and
then continued to scream some more. The only breaks were when he had to suck in
breath, before the screaming continued.
“What did you do to him?” Shelly screamed at the
Pillar of Darkness. The tall man had a small grin creasing his lips, but didn’t
answer.
“What needed to be done,” Lysa responded, floating
over to the siblings. She ran her hand over Sheldon’s head, and he quieted,
going limp in Shelly’s arms.
Fearing he was dead, Shelly felt at his neck and
sighed with relief. He had a pulse, slow but strong.
“What do you mean, what
had to be done,” she demanded of her half-sister. “I thought we needed to
get something to return Areth to her natural form.”
“You have,” Lucifer chuckled, his voice rich and
smooth with satisfaction. “I have given him a paradox. The only reason he lives
is because of Areth’s blessing upon him. If any normal mortal were to receive
my blessing, a paradox in itself, they would be consumed within moments.”
“How does that help?” Shelly failed to keep any
semblance of calm in her voice. “You’re killing him!”
“No, Shelly, he isn’t,” Lysa tried to soothe her.
“And you!” Shelly spat at the Pillar of Air. “You knew
this would happen? He’s your family! How could you?”
“Shelly,” Sonia appeared at her shoulder, her voice
calm. “Listen to Lysa.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” she spat at the android.
She saw that Shlee and Mandy were hovering close by, either supporting Megan,
or holding her back. She focused on the new woman. She recognized her as the
woman yelling for her brother’s attention outside the hospital after the White
House blew up. Apparently, she found Sheldon, and if Lysa was to be believed,
the Pillar of Air had set that meeting up. But other than that, who was she?
She’d seemed disgusted when Shelly revealed that she’d had sex with her own
brother, and yet challenged Sheldon to screw her and take her virginity.
“Did you do something to him?” Shelly demanded. “You
were the only one near him when he started screaming. Lysa said she helped you
get here. You’re working with them to hurt my brother!”
“What?” Megan asked, shocked. “No! I—”
“Shelly, knock it off, right now,” Lysa yelled at her.
Why was everyone yelling at her? Her brother was hurt,
if not dying from what the devil or the evil redhead did to him, and they were
yelling at her?
“Shelly….” Sonia’s hands landed lightly on her
shoulder. Her body reacted against her control, turning to the android and
letting go of her brother. Tears streamed from her eyes as she buried her face
in the woman’s bosom. “Shelly.” Sonia repeated and hugged her close.
“Jeeze, she really loves him, huh?” Megan’s voice said
over Shelly’s sobs.
“Not in that way,” Mandy said, an edge to her tone.
“No matter what they were forced to do against their will, they’re siblings,
only.”
“I was never close like that with my brother,” Megan
went on. “At least, not before he was killed overseas.”
“I think what was revealed would be best kept amongst
us,” Shlee said. “Ambassador Snow is a good man, and I don’t think he needs to
know about what his wife and children did while being controlled by Jessica.”
“That would be a great idea,” Lucifer chuckled darkly,
and Shelly pulled back to look at him. She felt ashamed for her weakness in
crying in front of everyone, but couldn’t bring herself to pull away from
Sonia. Her emotions were a wreck, and the robot was her only stability. “But
there’s one problem. You see, we’re surrounded by a fairly large group of very
angry vampires and their allies.”
“Let them have me,” Shlee said, her voice sad but
firm. “While they tear me apart, the rest of you can get away.”
“Bloody, fucking shit!” Lucifer swore. “I’ve never met
a group of people more willing to sacrifice themselves to protect each other.
You make me sick! Get out of my sight!” He flung his arm out and darkness
swallowed them all.
Shelly felt something behind her stomach twist as
panic set in. There was no way they could stand up to a group of vampires and
their allies. Especially not in their own domain: the darkness. Or in their
current level of readiness. Before she had a chance to scream out, or do
anything, she was blinded by a brilliant light.
She closed her eyes, but the light was still painful.
She didn’t know who brought the luminance into the Pillar of Darkness’s domain,
but hopefully it would hold their death back a little longer.
“Where are we?” Sonia said, still holding her. “I hate
not having any GPS in this world.”
Shelly felt ill. She didn’t know how, but she knew
things were worse. She accepted her fate. Guilt welled up in her for all that
she’d said and done, and she knew she deserved to die here.
“I don’t think…” Mandy started to speak. She sounded
just as sad and defeated as Shelly felt.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Shlee spoke up right
afterwards.
“At least we can see,” Megan piped up. Her voice
grated on Shelly’s ears. It sounded too cheerful. Held too much hope.
Shelly peeped through a crack in her eyelids and found
the light tolerable. It was still bright, but she could make out her
surroundings if she squinted a little bit. With a groan, she realized where
they were. The world around them looked washed out. There was color, but it was
muted, as though anything pastel or that wasn’t white would offend the being
that ruled this area. It also explained why she felt the way she did.
“We’re in the Pillar of Light’s demesne,” Mandy spoke
up before Shelly could. “What we’re feeling is guilt for every sin we’ve
committed.”
“I feel fine,” Megan said, her voice sounding too
loud. She needed to be more reverent in this place. Couldn’t she sense that?
“You just fucked another woman’s man, outside of
wedlock, and with an audience,” Shlee murmured. “How do you not feel bad about
that?”
Megan seemed to consider that for a moment. “Well, I
didn’t really have a choice, did I?” She shook her head. “And I did it to help
someone else out.” She paused and her eyes grew large as she stared between
Sheldon on the ground and Shelly in Sonia’s arms. “Oh, I get it! You didn’t
have a choice when you two did it either! I’m sorry I was so rude and mean to
you about that. I still think it’s disgusting, but since you weren’t in
control, I guess I can get past it.”
Shelly stared at the woman, shocked. She shouldn’t
feel bad about having sex with her brother? Megan
could get past it? Who did this woman think she was?
Except that Shelly didn’t feel guilty about that. Five
minutes ago she had, but now she didn’t. She felt overwhelming guilt for
abandoning her brother as she tried to go after Jessica and ending up captured
by the Myrmidon. She felt guilty about all the times she thought of her brother
as foolish, but she didn’t feel anything about how much she’d enjoyed the
feeling of his massive cock plumbing her insides. What was wrong with her? In
the one place where guilt could be considered a physical force, the domain of
Light, she should be on her knees weeping with guilt for the incestuous act.
“I can’t believe you, Megan,” Mandy spoke up, shock in
her voice. “I tried to support you, even though you were chasing after my man,
but to see the way you treat his sister, makes me sick.”
“What did I do to her?” Megan asked, upset. “I thought
I was apologizing for the way I treated her.”
“It’s the way you’re being so condescending,” Shlee
replied for the other woman. By the shadows under her eyes, she was suffering
from terrible guilt, but Shelly didn’t know what the werewolf geek would have
done to deserve it.
“Sorry to break into this conversation,” a male voice
asked, “but can you tell me why there is an army of vampires sitting on our
border?”
Shelly looked up at an image of pure beauty. His hair
was golden bright, his eyes blue, and his features chiseled by the hand of God
himself. Marchosias was a man of true beauty in a dark way, but this new
stranger was gorgeous because of his light. Or in spite of it. He even shined a
golden brilliance all his own, brighter than that of her brother. He floated a
few feet off the ground, feathered white wings flapping with a lazy elegance,
as though he didn’t need them to stay afloat, but enjoyed the cool air they
wafted around him.
“That’s….” Shlee tried to speak, but she closed off
with a sob. She dropped to her knees, and hunched over, shaking as tears
streamed from her eyes.
Mandy moved to her side, trying to comfort her.
“They’re pissed off because their ruse to destroy the
werewolves failed,” Megan said, her voice confident, and still not registering
any remorse. “One of them tricked Shlee into falling in love with him, and then
tried to kill her when she confessed that she was forced to fall in love with
Eldon.”
The angel turned to face the redhead, a curious look
crossing his face. “You are not without sin, yet you stand before me unfazed.
What is your name, child?”
“Megan Raquel Myers,” the girl said, and it tripped
something in Shelly’s mind.
“You’re the girl that was stalking my brother when I
got released from the hospital!” Shelly said, accusing her. “Who are you?” Who
was this woman that chased Sheldon into the Shadow World, and ended up screwing
him before the Pillar of Darkness? And why didn’t she feel any guilt for her
sins? “What are you?” She added as she glanced at Sonia. Even the android was
feeling the effects of this place, if her shaking was any indication. Was Megan
an assassin robot, as Sonia had been before? Is that why she was unaffected?
“Your father was a stalwart man,” the angel spoke,
ignoring Shelly’s internal concerns. “It seems he raised you to be strong. Your
brother is in heaven with him. I see from your thoughts that the Father of Lies
has worried you about their fate.” The angel turned his formidable and
enchanting gaze on Shelly. “No, she is no assassin, Shelly Lance. She is
flawed, like any human, but she looks at the world through innocent eyes,
though a different innocence than your newly souled companion. Sometimes the
most innocent are the wisest. She knows that her actions moments ago were not
entirely of her choosing. Lucifer could not stand to touch her long, but I can
see from your thoughts that he managed to kiss her, and so cast a geis upon
her. Her personality was augmented, and she forced your brother to dominate
her.”
“But… but….” Shelly looked around, trying to
understand. She didn’t feel guilty for screwing her brother, but did for doing
what she thought was right in chasing after Jessica? It didn’t make sense. It
wasn’t right, or fair! And this redheaded tart was getting off easy, even after
being an exhibitionist, having sex outside of wedlock, and stalking her
brother!
“Jealousy is also a sin,” the angel spoke with a calm
and smooth voice. Shelly felt a new wave of guilt swarm across her skin, but
pushed past it.
“We need to get to Lyden Snow,” Mandy spoke up. “We
need to restore the fairy, Areth, to her natural state, and remove Satan’s
blessing from Eldon before it kills him.”
And shouldn’t
the four-armed twit be overcome with grief after all the deaths Sheldon and her
caused? Shelly’s thoughts flared with a dark desire to have those around
her feel the same burning regret that she did.
“Stop it, my love,” Sonia whispered to her, almost as
though she could read Shelly’s thoughts. But she wasn’t Jessica. Jessica had
been able to read Shelly’s mind, and she’d still loved her. She was likely just
reading her body language, but it bothered Shelly. She pulled away and glared
at her girlfriend.
“Why do you even care?” Shelly spat. “I’m ruined
goods. You don’t love me because of who I am, but because it’s my soul that you
stole a portion of.”
“Shelly, no…” Sonia moaned and covered her mouth. Pain
reflected back in her eyes from Shelly’s harsh words.
Shelly’s guilt doubled, and she fought against the
tide that tried to overwhelm her. She didn’t deserve the android’s love. She
didn’t deserve anyone’s love. She was a wretched person, and she should crawl
into a hole and die. King Aecus had seen how unworthy she was, and forever
tainted her.
“It is always a terrible thing when someone leaves
darkness, only to be blinded by the light,” the angel spoke. He moved before
Shelly could react, and she felt the back of his hand press against her
forehead. “Calm down child, and know that your sins are not that great. Though
they seem large now, redemption is not beyond you. Forgiveness can be tough,
but everyone is deserving who seeks it with true intent.”
Shelly stumbled back, numb and weak. Her guilt fled as
fast as the darkness had when they were sent here. She looked back at Sonia, at
the anguish and torment she’d caused and felt… nothing. No, not quite nothing.
She knew that deep down her words were true, even without Mandy’s presence, but
she no longer felt guilt. For this one moment in time, she was incapable of
feeling guilt. She knew that she cared for the android, and knew that at any
other time she would feel terrible for her actions, but she couldn’t do it
right at that moment.
“If that’s how you truly feel, then I won’t press my
attentions on you anymore,” Sonia stated, a hitch in her voice. “I’m sworn to
protect you, and I will continue to do so, but you won’t have to worry about my
unwanted attentions.”
When Sonia turned her back, Shelly felt something. It
wasn’t regret or remorse, but a sudden emptying within her heart. Still, she
couldn’t offer any words to soften her actions. She was numb inside.
“That’s much better,” the angel said with a beatific
smile. “Mortals can be such a bother. Now to offer solace to the werewolf.”
“No,” Shelly finally found her voice. She couldn’t put
her finger on it, but knew that she didn’t want Shlee feeling as numb and empty
as she did. She knew the woman was suffering, but this hollow feeling inside
was unnatural.
The dazzling man turned to look at her with a question
on his face. “Do you not wish for your compatriot to feel better? Do you truly
wish her to continue to suffer?”
Shelly tried to look within herself to tell him why
she felt the way she did, but there was no answer. There was nothing inside of
her to answer.
“That’s quite enough, Amenadiel,” Lysa’s voice floated
to them. “It’s time they returned to a less dismal location, anyway.”
The wondrous man, Amenadiel, frowned at the empty
space. Even his frown was beautiful. “You should not be allowed to enter this
domain. Lucifer’s current slut should be crippled with guilt and sorrow for her
heinous and lascivious actions.”
“Good thing it’s just my voice, then, huh?” Lysa
laughed back, a little on the malicious side. Shelly thought that if she were
feeling normal, she wouldn’t have liked this side of her half-sister. “Their
ride is about here. Go on, leave them to me. Shew, shew.”
“Philanderous slut,” Amenadiel muttered, but flapped
his wings and flew off into the washed-out distance.
“Now then,” Lysa’s voice remained disembodied, “I’ve
directed the Rocs to speed you to Gaia’s home, where Dad is currently enjoying
her ministrations. You should have—Ah! Not right now, Lucy! I’m in the middle
of—ungh!”
Everyone looked around, not sure what was happening.
When Lysa didn’t return to talking to them, they assumed she’d been cut off by
the Pillar of Darkness, somehow. Shelly still couldn’t find it within herself
to care.
Mandy and Shlee looked over Sheldon, though it was
obvious that Shlee was still suffering greatly from her guilt. Megan had tried
to go to Sonia to talk to her, but the android ignored her. Shelly didn’t stop
her when the redhead came to her next.
“What did that angel do to you?” Megan asked. “You
look different.”
“Oh, yeah?” Shelly responded. “Huh.”
“Yeah,” Megan nodded. “You look like you don’t have a
care in the world. You used to have this look in your eyes, like the world was
out to get you, or something. Now? Now, you look… innocent.”
“Okay.” Shelly was already bored with this
conversation. Overhead, she noticed two massive birds circling. They at least,
were interesting to watch.
They landed a short distance away and cawed in unison.
Shelly turned her back and started walking away.
“Where are you going?” Megan shouted after her. The
woman still hadn’t learned to be respectful in this place, but Shelly no longer
cared.
“To go find something more interesting to do.” She
didn’t even bother turning around to shout back. “I’ve already ridden my Roc.
Nothing new, there.”
“Shi—” Sonia tried to swear, but couldn’t finish the
word. “Fu— Da— Mother trucking son of a serpent! What is wrong with you,
Shelly? Aren’t you concerned about your brother, or returning Areth to her form?”
Shelly stopped and considered that for a moment. She
turned and regarded the boring group. Mandy and Shlee were climbing up on one
Roc, while Sonia approached the other with caution. For a moment Shelly was
curious to know how six of them were going to ride on two Rocs, but the feeling
was fleeting.
“No thanks,” she turned and continued walking. Part of
her was interested in getting her brother help, but she’d spent lots of time
with her brother. She hadn’t been in the dreary looking Pillar of Light’s demesne
very often, or even met the Pillar. She wondered what he would be like. As far
as she knew, no one had seen the divine being in centuries.
“What did that bastard do to you?” Sonia shouted after
her, but she ignored the spy andoid. She was no longer important, or
interesting.
Shelly walked on for a bit, trying to find anything
interesting to look at, but everything was so bland. Maybe she should have gone
with the others. She could have moved faster that way, and maybe found
something that would catch her interest.
She felt the gust of wind just in time to turn around
and see the massive claw grip her. The ground dropped away as her Roc flew
towards Gaia’s home.
*
* * *
Being held in a claw was fun for the first couple
minutes. It took her a bit of effort to get her body turned around so she could
watch the ground fly past. In her efforts, she almost worked herself out of the
talons holding her. She wondered if it would be fun to plummet to the ground.
The fun wouldn’t last long, though. She knew she should be afraid of that
thought, but even fear was beyond her.
At least when they crossed the border, real colors
returned. Greens, browns, and even blue from the hot spring that she’d nursed
Jessica back to health after the myrmidon attack. Something deep inside finally
twisted at that thought, and she shoved it down hard.
That event was probably a ruse, she realized, now that
she could think about it objectively. And the ogres that kept appearing out of
nowhere when they’d first met her. All of it a trick to allow Jessica to get in
close to them, so she could…. Could what? Jessica must have also found a way to
kill Varun in his weakened state. What other tricks had the woman played on
them, that they still didn’t see?
Such thoughts entertained her until she was dropped
onto a ledge. Then she had plenty to keep her occupied and entertained.
At first, she had trouble understanding the chaos in
the large round room. Gloria was charging in, sword raised as if she was going
to attack, but Shelly knew that couldn’t be right. Gloria was a good person…
wasn’t she?
The memory of Gloria putting them all to sleep and
blocking their memories of the orgy flashed through her mind. Now, an orgy
sounded like fun! It was the only orgy she could recall being a part of. For
some reason she used to think they were too raunchy. Now, one seemed like just
the right thing to fill that emptiness she felt inside.
“Hey!” Shelly waved at her brother’s ex-girlfriend.
“Hey, Gloria! Want to create another orgy? That sounds like lots of fun! Just
don’t make me forget this time.”
Gloria slowed down and looked distracted for a moment,
which was just long enough time for the ground to open up and swallow her to
her neck.
“Well, fuck!” Shelly swore, seeing her chance for
entertainment passing away. Then she realized what she’d said, and laughed.
“Fuck,” she repeated and giggled. Why had she been so afraid to use that word
before? It felt liberating. “Fuck, fuck, fuckitty, fuckfuckfuck!”
“Shelly?” Lyden asked. “What’s wrong with you?” There
was concern and fear in his voice as he stared at his vulgarity-spewing
daughter. There was a dark patch on his side that she chose to ignore.
“Daddy!” she called to him, and ran to hug his strong
frame. She hadn’t realized just how handsome he was. He was so manly, and
strong. “Daddy, do you want to fuck? I’m so bored!”
His strong arms shoved hard against her, pushing her
away. He spun on where Gloria had transformed into a snake, but was still
trapped in the ground.
“What did you do to my daughter, you serpent?” Lyden
screamed at the goddess.
“Daddy,” Shelly tried to tell him. “She didn’t do anything
to me. The angel did! Oh, I should have fucked him! He was so gorgeous, too!”
“Mr. Snow,” Mandy spoke up, “Shelly is right. Gloria
may be the original temptress, but your daughter was like this before we
arrived.”
Lyden spun on the four-armed woman, rage billowing
like dark clouds in his gray eyes. “What is the meaning of this? What’s
happened to my…. Is that Sheldon? Sheldon!”
For a moment, Shelly was miffed at being forgotten as
her father ran to where Sheldon lay on the ground. Like the boring sod he was,
he didn’t do anything. Shelly was more interesting than her brother! With the
orgy idea still fresh in her mind, she was tempted to strip and show everyone
how much more interesting she could be, but no one was paying her any mind.
Even Gloria in her snake form was staring at Eldon, frantically wriggling to
escape her earthen prison.
She turned to leave these miserable people, but found
that one person was still paying attention to her. Sonia blocked her path. The
android’s eyes showed fear and confusion, and no small amount of pain. Shelly
knew she was the cause of that pain, but couldn’t bring herself to care. She
was numb to all emotions but boredom, it seemed.
“Will you entertain me,” Shelly asked her girlfriend.
“Or are you going to be as boring as them?”
“Shelly!” Sonia shouted in her face, and then slapped
her. The pain was novel for a few seconds, but even that wore off quickly.
“What is wrong with you? Gloria is trying to kill the Pillar of Earth, your
family is under attack, and you want to be entertained?”
“So what?” Shelly shrugged and tried to step around
Sonia. The android moved to block her. She moved again, but the other woman
mirrored her. “What does it matter? We’re all going to die eventually, anyway.
Is it so wrong that I want to have a little fun first? I’m done dealing with
the pain and guilt I suffered before. Can’t you be happy for me? I thought you
were supposed to care about me.”
She watched as anguish spread again across Sonia’s
beautiful features. She knew her words had hurt the woman, but didn’t possess
enough empathy to understand how.
Sonia gripped Shelly by the shoulders and spun her
around fast enough to make her dizzy. She was facing her family again.
Everyone other than Gloria and Gaia were huddled over
Sheldon. The Pillar of Earth had her hand outstretched to the landlocked
goddess, Aphrodite. Gloria’s face was pained as she looked at her ex-boyfriend
even as her body fought to get closer to Gaia, sword in hand. Apparently, she’d
changed back into her human form. For a moment, Shelly envied Gloria and her
brother the ability to change into living forms. Her ability to change into
inanimate objects was useless by comparison.
“What happened to him?” Gloria demanded. “Who hurt
him? Please, let me go to him.”
“You’re still trying to kill me,” Gaia responded in a
strained voice. Shelly noted that sweat beaded on her brow. “I know you’re
under Jessica’s control, but I can’t let you go.”
“But his mind!” Gloria screamed. “He’s in pain. He
needs me!”
“You abandoned him!” Shlee retorted with rage. Shelly
thought it was interesting the way her face elongated into a snout filled with
sharp fangs for just a moment. Then the werewolf had to ruin it by regaining
her composure.
“You left him after putting a love spell on Shlee,”
Mandy piped in next. The four-armed woman always had something to say, though
Shelly appreciated that you could always trust what she said. “Or don’t you
remember breaking his heart? Shlee and I were the ones to mend him. You don’t
deserve to breathe the same air as him!”
For almost three seconds Shelly thought that they
might get into a cat fight, and that might at least be a bit entertaining.
Instead, Mandy turned back to Sheldon and explained to his father what they’d
been through. Since Shelly already knew most of that, she found it incredibly
boring.
She struggled against the iron grip of the android,
attempting to get free and leave. There was an opening along one wall that
would be a great way to escape these people. She knew they were several stories
up, but didn’t care. Perhaps the fall would entertain her.
Something sharp poked the back of her neck a split
moment after Sonia released her. She ignored it, seeing her chance at freedom.
It was only a few steps away…. Except that as she watched, the room lengthened
and dimmed. Reaching for the light, grasping for her escape, she realized she
was laying on the floor, drool slipping from her slack lips. When had that
happened?
*
* * *
Shelly blinked a few times,
looking around in the bright light. She felt cold. Glancing down, she found
nothing on her body. Her tits pointed freely to the sky, the nubs of her
nipples hard and straining. Countless wires protruded from her arms, chest, and
probably further down, but she couldn’t see that far. They led off in every
direction. She tried to see where they went, but they vanished into darkness.
The only light was shining right on her, making it hard to see beyond it. She
tried to struggle, to move, but her body refused to obey. A closer look showed
manacles holding her against an upright metal slab. Even without the manacles,
she couldn’t get any muscles below her neck to even twitch, much less move.
She knew she should feel fear, or panic, or anything,
other than complete emptiness. Oh well. At least the cold was interesting, in
that it caused her to feel something.
“She’s awake,” a dispassionate voice said, that
sounded even colder because it came from speakers.
“Shelly?” Sonia asked, her voice filled with fear and
concern. She was in the room with Shelly. The tubes and wires protruding from
Shelly’s skin shifted as Sonia approached into the light. “Shelly, it’s me,
Sonia.”
“Yeah?” Shelly asked, disinterested in the woman
herself, but interested in the fact that all the tubes and wires went into the
android. “I know that. I’m bored.”
“You’re… bored…” Sonia asked, as though trying to
ascertain the meaning of those simple words.
For an android,
she sure can be dense, Shelly thought.
“Shelly, I want you to go into your Mens Mundi,” Sonia went on. “I want you
to--”
Of course!
Shelly thought with a sense of triumph, ignoring whatever else the boring
synthetic woman had to say. She could do or be anything she wanted in her Mens Mundi. She cursed herself for not
having thought of it sooner. There was even an old geezer there who was willing
to entertain her. She couldn’t remember why she hadn’t wanted to before, but
now that seemed like a perfect distraction.
Closing her eyes, she sunk deep into her mind. Always
before she had needed to be near death to find it, but now it felt as though
there was a guiding hand, leading her ever deeper. Taking her to the mental
space that was all hers.
Except that when she opened her eyes, it wasn’t the
beach, or anywhere else that she recognized. She was in a lavish room,
decorated with pillows of multiple colors, shapes, and patterns strewn all over
the place. In fact, she couldn’t even see the floor. Taking a step forward, her
foot landed on something soft and warm.
“Oy!” Shouted the old geezer she’d been thinking about
a moment before. She made sure she was already naked as she looked down to find
him buried beneath a number of cushions. “Watch where you’re… walk...ing.” The
old man shook himself and took in her body. “Do my eyes deceive me? April, is
that you? No, your hair is too dark.” He rubbed at his eyes as he stood up.
Shelly noted with disappointment that he was fully clothed in dark robes that
swathed him from chin to feet. “Shelly, why are you naked? Come to tease you
grandfather?”
“I’m bored,” Shelly told him. Those robes looked like
they would come off easily enough. “Let’s fuck.”
Shemhazau’s eyes grew large as a grin split his lips.
He reached for a clasp on his robes, but then his face fell and he looked
closer at her. “Something’s wrong…” he said, his voice indicating that he was
trying to figure out what.
“Of course it is,” Shelly snapped, losing her
patience. “Your cock isn’t pumping in and out of my pussy. God! Why won’t
anyone entertain me?”
“God?” Shemhazau took a step back from her and his
eyes sharpened. “You’re bored, and no longer care about incest, or anything
like that? Damn that Amenadiel! I recognize his handiwork.”
“Do you know how to fix it?” Another voice broke in.
“Your son said you might have an idea where you lived in the Pillar of Light’s
Demesne for so long. I had to enter her mind, then talk her into coming here.”
Shelly turned to see the irritating android standing a
few feet away.
“Go away,” Shelly commanded her, mentally shoving her
from her inner mind. She didn’t leave, and Shemhazau was now staring in awe at
Sonia. Shelly didn’t understand why. It’s not like the robot was naked and
willing to throw herself onto his fuck-stick. Not like Shelly was.
“I felt her push you away, but you’re still here…
How?” Shemhazau asked. “This is her mind. She rules here.”
“There is a 87 percent probability that it’s because I
possess part of her soul,” Sonia replied with the most uninteresting
information in the world. “There is also a 45 percent chance that she really
doesn’t want me to leave. There is also a uncertain percentage of chance that
the fact that I am linked directly into her mind allows me to resist being
expunged.”
Shelly wasn’t stupid, and she knew that added up to
more than one hundred percent. The machine must be broken.
“That doesn’t add up,” Shemhazau said.
“Right?” Shelly agreed, annoyed.
“They are not exclusive,” Sonia said. “They are three
different calculations. But we need to know if you can do anything to help
her.”
“I don’t know…” the old guy shook his head. “Maybe.”
Once again, Shelly was ignored and found herself
without anything to entertain her. Since this was her mind, she decided to go
somewhere else. Maybe she could imagine someone to entertain her, and make her
happy.
“What do you mean?” Sonia asked, fear and worry in her
voice.
Why was Shelly still here? She’d tried to go somewhere
else, but nothing happened. This was her Mens
Mundi. She should be in control here, but try as she might, she couldn’t
leave this den of pillows.
“Amenadiel stripped her of anything that might cause
guilt. Think of Adam and Eve before the apple. It was actually a plum, by the
way, and Eve came first, but that doesn’t really matter here. Before they ate
the fruit of knowledge, they were completely innocent. The difference with my
granddaughter is that she had knowledge before, so when Amenadiel stripped her
of all her guilt, he took too much. He took what made her human. Now she’s
little more than an animal that knows how to talk. Consequences have no meaning
to her.”
“But you might be able to fix her?” Sonia pressed.
Shelly stumbled her way to one wall and banged against
it, trying to escape.
“It’s no use, Shelly,” Shemhazau said, his voice sad.
“Once I knew what happened to you, I transferred you to my Mens Mundi. Think of it like a dream within a dream. I rule here. Not you.”
“Shemhazau!” Sonia yelled. “I need to know if you can
fix her or not. There are other things transpiring in the real world that need
my attention, but I need to have her back the way she was. I… I need her.”
“Oh, sure!” Shelly sneered. “I needed you to entertain
me, but no! You were too good for that. Now you want to claim you need me?”
Seeing the pain wash across Sonia’s face almost made
Shelly feel something.
“I don’t know!” Shemhazau answered Sonia, ignoring
Shelly. “The person rarely ever survives long after. They have no sense of self
preservation. I’ve never had the chance to try anything.”
“Can we get Amenadiel to reverse it?” Sonia pressed.
“Angels aren’t capable of giving or causing guilt.
That’s something that has to come from the person’s soul. Amenadiel tore that
part of her out. She can no more grow that part back than could a regular human
grow back an arm that was cut off.” A couch appeared behind Shemhazau, and he
fell into it.
So, she was missing part of her soul? That was almost
entertaining. A memory flickered across her mind of how miserable she’d been
before the angel took it all away. She didn’t know if she was better off
without it, or feeling something that strong would be better than this
numbness.
“Her soul…” Sonia trailed off, then rushed towards the
relaxing man. “Part of her soul is in me! From before this was done to her.
Could we use that to fix her broken part?”
“Part of her soul…” Shemhazau rubbed at his chin, and
nodded. “Yes… Maybe… I’m not sure. How did you get part of her soul?”
“We’re not sure, but we think it might have been from
when I was in her mind space before,” Sonia said. “Just being here allowed a
portion of her soul to enter me.”
They both turned and looked at Shelly.
“If you’re not going to fuck me, or do something fun,
then you can go fuck off,” she informed them. Why had she ever thought swearing
was a bad thing?
The man shook
his head. “Sharing space in someone’s Mens
Mundi has the effect of melding souls, but if that was all it took, then I
think we’d be seeing something by now.” Their faces fell in unison, but the man
perked up a moment later. “Perhaps if you two got intimate!”
“Excuse me?” Sonia demanded at the same time Shelly
said, “Finally!”
Sonia continued on, “Do your perversions know no
bounds? I told you we need to help her, and your response is to have sex with
her? How depraved are you?”
“Hear me out,” Shemhazau held his hands up in a
warding gesture. “If it was just about me being lewd, I’d do it myself. Well, I
would if I could get it up for her, but her current condition is a turnoff for
me. You’re the one with a piece of her original soul, so it has to be you that
does it. The closeness you both shared in the past should help in the
transference and restoration of her soul. I can’t promise it will be enough,
but right now it’s the only one you have.”
Sonia’s eyes narrowed as she regarded him. “You’ve
been in here longer than anyone. Why don’t you have a portion of her soul?”
Shemhazau’s face fell even further as he shook his
head. “What I have… and what I am can’t help her. I’m not enough of me to possess her soul, or any soul for
that matter.”
Sonia looked at him for a few more moments before
finally turning and giving Shelly some attention. For her part, Shelly had
entertained herself by picking up pillows and throwing them at the other two.
They always vanished before striking either one, but at least it was something
to do in this prison.
“I’ll try it, but not with you here, old man,” Sonia
stated with finality. “You said we were in your mindscape? I want you to return
us to hers.”
“Done,” Shemhazau said. Folding his arms before his
face, he nodded and their surroundings and him vanished. They were in a dull
gray room, unadorned with decorations or furniture of any sort.
“I don’t trust that man,” Sonia said, looking around
with a frown. “Do you mind making some furniture or something to prove it’s
your Mens Mundi?”
“You mean like a chair or something?” She asked,
looking around, she found the place to be the very epitome of boring and droll.
“Think of something else, but don’t say it out loud,”
Sonia replied. “I don’t want him trying to mimic something you say.”
Shelly bent her mind to the task, thinking that this
was something worth doing to help lighten up this place. She was supposed to be
here to get it on with the android… So a bed would be a good start. With a wave
of her hand, it appeared before them, but unlike the one she’d pictured, rich,
soft, and covered in lavish red blankets, it was dull and gray as well.
“I’m sensing a theme here,” Sonia stated with a
grimace.
Annoyed, Shelly concentrated on the bed, and tried to
force it to change colors. It didn’t budge.
“He must still be here,” Shelly growled. “I can’t
change its color.”
Sonia glanced around, then examined Shelly’s naked
body with shrewd intensity. “No, I think this is your mindscape. I think
everything is gray because of your damaged soul. I don’t think you have the
capacity to add color here.”
Shelly continued to try anyway. Annoyance wasn’t a pleasant
emotion, but at least she felt something.
Sonia walked up to her and gripped her by the
shoulders. Turning her to face the synthetic woman, she said, “If you want to
make changes, then you’re going to need to come over here and do as your
grandfather suggested. If he’s wrong, or lied to us, I can assure you I will
destroy whatever is left of him.” There was no response from the horny old man.
If he was spying on them, he was wise enough to keep quiet.
As far as Shelly was concerned, she didn’t care if
Shemhazau was watching. Regarding doing what he said, it beat the frustration
of trying to change her surroundings.
Shelly looked deep into Sonia’s green eyes, and
thought she found something familiar within their depths. A part of her she no
longer recognized cried out for that, and before she knew it, she’d leaned in
and kissed Sonia.
The android wasted no time in returning the kiss. As
their lips met, soft and sensual at first, but building to a hunger that Shelly
had forgotten. It started in her stomach, just behind her navel. A sensation
that felt both glorious and nervous.
Unbidden, Shelly’s arms lifted and pulled Sonia in
closer to her. That weird feeling warmed and started to spread, filling her
abdomen and rising up into her chest. She didn’t know if she really had a heart
in this gray place, but she felt it beat faster. She wanted more!
With almost no effort, she picked up the android and
carried her to the bed. Sonia lay naked, but calm as she looked up at Shelly.
For her part, Shelly’s face bore a hungry look, not for the android, but for
the feelings that the android stirred within her wounded soul.
Crawling over the prone synthetic-life, Shelly again
pressed her lips to Sonia’s. This time she slipped her tongue from between her
teeth, and thrilled when she felt the other woman meet hers. Shelly’s breasts
pressed down, her nipples hard, and she felt her vulva swell and slicken with
desire at the increased physical contact.
This is what
she’d wanted! This is what she’d
craved! The emptiness inside her was filling, and she was feeling again! Why
hadn’t anyone been willing to do this for her until now? There were plenty of
people around previously, but Sonia was the only one willing to help her. Or at
least, that’s how she saw things. Whatever the reason was, she felt grateful to
Sonia for making her feel again.
In fact, she felt something else fill up, as Sonia’s
deft fingers slipped down to her cunt. At first the android worked the magic
little nub above her opening, making Shelly moan with increased desire and
heat. First one, and then a second finger slipped into her slick folds. Shelly
ground her hips against the invading digits with relish.
“Do me too,” Sonia demanded around their kiss.
Shelly ignored her. This wasn’t about the other woman.
This was about Shelly, and Shelly was finally getting to feel something again.
She shut the other woman up by gripping Sonia’s head
and pulling her back into the kiss. She felt the other woman grimace, but she
didn’t stop what she was doing, so Shelly didn’t care.
As Sonia continued to work her skills in Shelly’s
quim, she started to feel a different sensation build, one that was separate
and distinct from the sensations growing in her. Shelly’s moans grew in volume,
until she could no longer maintain the kiss, and turned her head to the side in
order to pant out her pleasant sounds.
“Oh, fuck, that feels good,” she mewled as Sonia
brought her closer to climax. “Keep going. I’m so close!”
Instead, to her annoyance, Sonia pulled her fingers
out and brought them up to Shelly’s lips. Without even thinking about it, she
let the other woman place the two slick fingers in her mouth, and sucked them.
Sonia’s lips came up, and joined hers in cleaning the shiny digits for a brief
moment, and Shelly thought she felt a little more connected with the woman.
“I want you to sit on my face,” Sonia said when they
were done licking every trace of Shelly’s juices from the android’s fingers.
Shelly wasn’t about to complain about receiving more
pleasure and moved up the other woman’s body. Right away, she noticed a
slacking of sensation as she was no longer in so much physical contact with the
android. She debated for only a moment on returning to kissing Sonia, but a better
idea occurred to her. Turning around, she planted her nether lips on Sonia’s
talented mouth, and then lay forward, allowing her body to rest on the other
woman’s.
She felt Sonia’s tongue probe and lick along her
labia, sending shivers up along her spine. Shelly wrapped her arms around
Sonia’s body, trying to maximize the amount of contact, and therefore the
connection they were sharing. Everything felt so much better that way. She
found her head pressed against Sonia’s mound, and despite herself, she turned
into it, tasting her inner folds.
Sonia’s hips bucked as the tip of Shelly’s tongue
flicked across her clit. Sonia rewarded her by inserting two fingers into
Shelly, and attacking her clit with fervor. Shelly nearly screamed with how
great that felt. Realizing that she was getting treated better and pleased more
by pleasing the android, Shelly dove in with gusto, trying to give as good as
she was getting.
Shelly used her hands to spread Sonia open, and
attacked the sweet opening with her lips, tongue, and even teeth. The android’s
hips lurched and bucked under Shelly, even as her own did the same against
Sonia’s hungry mouth.
“So close,” Sonia moaned. Shelly thought about doing
to her what she’d done to Shelly, but felt her own climax approaching, and
didn’t want to ruin it.
She sucked hard on Sonia’s clit as she inserted a
finger from each hand into the inviting hole. Shelly still came first, as the
two separate feelings in her stomach commingled and joined, melding into
something new and wonderful. The catalyst that was her orgasm fused the
feelings even as they exploded throughout her body.
The two women tumbled in the lush bed, rolling on top
of each other as they continued to suck and lick each other’s most private
parts. As each woman came, their moans filled the small room, and filled each
other with a greater sense of purpose and caring. At one point, Shelly wasn’t
sure where she left off and the android began. She even thought she could
remember being assembled in a factory, and having a direct uplink to the
internet. She felt what Sonia felt for her, and even though the android was a
being whose mind was comprised of ones and zeros, Shelly had no doubt that
Sonia loved her.
With a sudden crashing of emotion, Shelly pushed the
other woman away. Her face was wet from more than Sonia’s vaginal juices. Tears
seeped from her eyes as she buried her face in her hands.
“Shelly?” Sonia asked, worry and fear thick in her
voice. A moment later she asked again, this time with awe in her question, “Um…
Shelly? Look.”
“No,” Shelly sobbed. “I can’t… Don’t look at me.”
Shame filled her, replacing the wonderful feelings she’d felt only moments
before. She was changed inside, and wasn’t sure of what that meant. Had she
really wanted to feel anything just a
bit ago? She felt horrible, and not just for the way she’d behaved after
Amenadiel took a portion of her soul away.
Sonia loved and cared for her in a way that Shelly
knew she couldn’t return. Too much of her heart still belonged to Jessica. She
cared for Sonia; cared a lot. And maybe somewhere deep down, she could admit
that she loved Sonia. But it wasn’t on the same unconditional, and unselfish
way that Sonia loved her.
Was Sonia able to love Shelly so deeply because it was
Shelly’s soul that powered that emotion? Shelly didn’t know, but she knew she
didn’t deserve that kind of devotion.
“Shelly, the room…” Sonia was still talking to her.
She realized that she was also being shaken by a firm grasp on her shoulders.
“Look at the room!”
Despite her inner turmoil, Shelly found herself
obeying the command, and peeked through her fingers. What had once been a dull
gray and lifeless room was now vibrant with colors. The bed was a lush red
color that contrasted with the blue carpet and white walls. She thought the
room was too bright for her mood, and watched as it dimmed, the light fading
just as she knew that her hope for a happy future was fading.
“You’re back!” Sonia pulled her into a gleeful hug,
her strong arms almost crushing her, but not nearly as crushing as her inner
guilt.
“I’m back,” Shelly muttered as a fresh set of tears
poured from her eyes. She almost, almost,
wished she could go back to being numb.
====================
From the Author
====================
It's... been a long time. I could give you excuses, and explain why I wasn't able to write, but the truth is that it came down to priorities. My time over the last year has been very limited (going from an 40 hour work week to a 60+ hour sucks!). As such, I devoted my time to other pursuits. Mostly, my family, and what little relaxing I could accomplish. My schedule has leveled out closer to that 40 hours again, and so expect it to NOT take a year before the next chapter.
I've said before that this story is not dead, and I mean it. There is an ending coming... sooner rather than later. I won't say more than that as it's not written yet, except to say that there is a final story planned to round this series out as a trilogy. The final story will have new characters, and a new main (but someone you've met in this book), and will continue shortly after this one ends.
I want to thank everyone who is still reading these, and who have stuck around. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out, and I promise the next one *should* drop within a couple weeks. It's written, just needs editing.
Please let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments below. Even if all you do is chew me out for the long hiatus, I want to hear from you. I read all the comments here... Literotica and XNXX, not as religiously.
I've said before that this story is not dead, and I mean it. There is an ending coming... sooner rather than later. I won't say more than that as it's not written yet, except to say that there is a final story planned to round this series out as a trilogy. The final story will have new characters, and a new main (but someone you've met in this book), and will continue shortly after this one ends.
I want to thank everyone who is still reading these, and who have stuck around. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out, and I promise the next one *should* drop within a couple weeks. It's written, just needs editing.
Please let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments below. Even if all you do is chew me out for the long hiatus, I want to hear from you. I read all the comments here... Literotica and XNXX, not as religiously.
Thank you!
-Zerg Rush
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| Shelly |
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| Sonia |
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